


Calzona Season 13

by iloveyoucalzona, nyladreams, Zenparadox



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 19:05:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 38,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8113975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iloveyoucalzona/pseuds/iloveyoucalzona, https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyladreams/pseuds/nyladreams, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zenparadox/pseuds/Zenparadox
Summary: Summary: A short season of Calzona finding their way home.Episode 1 Summary: With Callie and Sofia gone, Arizona questions her decision.





	1. Episode 1: This Will Be Our Year

**Author's Note:**

> This was a collaborative effort by tumblr users thezenparadox, mamarobbins, nyladreams.

_“And I won't forget_

_The way you held me up when I was down_

_And I won't forget the way you said,_

_"Darling I love you"_

_You gave me faith to go on_

_Now we're there and we've only just begun_

_This will be our year.”_

 

* * *

 

“So when can I take my baby home?” April prompted for the third time that morning alone, as she watched her best friend coo at her days-old daughter.

 

Arizona pursed her lips, eyes still lovingly trained on the tiny human in her arms―her gorgeous goddaughter. “Not yet.”

“Why not?!” April whined. “It’s been three days! I’m _fine_. I’m healed!”  

“You got your baby cut out of you by a resident with a rusty scalpel and dish-towels―in Meredith’s kitchen no less,” Arizona countered, finally meeting her frustrated friend’s eyes. She shook her head. “I want you to stay for at least another few days. You need more antibiotics, rest, and support.”

“But-”

“It’s not like you _really_ have anything to complain about,” Arizona muttered almost inaudibly, as she allowed the baby to fist her pinky finger. “We could have discharged the baby yesterday, but we didn’t. At least you get to be with your daughter.”

April cringed. “Arizona…” she began, sickened with sympathy for her friend who couldn’t be with her own daughter.

Forcing herself out of her painful thoughts, Arizona looked up, plastering on a smile. “Hmm?”

But April wasn’t buying the façade. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“What’s there to talk about?” Arizona huffed. “I bought Callie plane tickets. I told her to leave, and she did. Now, Sofia’s in New York, and I’m here. It is what it is.”

April sighed, noting the blonde’s hyper-rational statement of the facts. Her tone was almost eerily detached. Or numb. “She’s coming back though, right?”

“For the weekend. Long enough to wrap up everything here, I assume. Then they’re gone for good. My baby will be living in New York.”

“Why did you tell Callie to go, anyway? She would’ve stayed. She _was_ staying.”

“I don’t know why!” Arizona exclaimed, momentarily forgetting about the sleeping baby in her arms. Lowering her voice, she maintained, “I don’t know. I don’t know why I let her go. I just...I-I…” She paused, exhaling a long, calming breath. “She was down, and I wanted to lift her up.”

“Right,” April nodded. Arizona had supported her all year, and now she knew it was her turn to lend an ear and listen. Not that she had any choice―Arizona had confined her to her hospital room, after all.

But, mistaking April’s quiet for judgment, Arizona began to fret, “Do you think I made a bad call, here? I mean, it felt right at the time, but did I just jump the gun without thinking? Did I-”

April was already shaking her head from side to side, desperate to calm the blonde’s qualms. “No, I-”

“I mean, am I crazy or...Or-or-or a terrible mother?” she rattled on. “Because I don’t know if it’s the best thing for Sofia, switching schools, leaving her village, leaving _me_. And-and it’s definitely not the best thing for me, but Callie was…” She paused. “I was trying to protect her, and now-”

“From what?” April interrupted.

Arizona made a face, annoyed by the interruption and confused by the question. “ _What_?”

“Why did you feel that you had to protect her?” April pressed. “Callie isn’t your responsibility anymore. It’s not your job to look out for her.”

“I know that! In my head, I know that. I was so mad at her after court…” Arizona glanced up from the baby, her guilt obvious. “I may have been too hard on her. I was holding a grudge. A grudge which I felt justified in holding, but once that faded...Once the anger was gone and I looked at her, really looked…well...” She sighed. “I’ve never been able to stand seeing her sad. And now, because of that, I’m here alone and practically _daughterless_.”  

“Arizona,” April cautioned. “You are no more alone now than you were last week. And you aren’t daughterless. You just have your daughter…less.” Her lips quirked up at her poor attempt at humor.

“Understatement,” Arizona grumbled in response.

“If it’s any consolation, you’re going to be a _big_ part of my village. A village VIP.” April’s eyes settled on her newborn in Arizona’s arms. “She’s going to love you.”

Arizona inhaled deeply and put on her best smile for her friend. She knew she shouldn’t leak her negativity all over the innocent baby. And April didn’t need her drama―she had enough of her own. “You’re right. This little cutie,” she cooed, “Will love me, because I’m _awesome_.”

April laughed. “No kidding.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Robbins!” Bailey whisper-yelled, so as not to disturb the patients and their families, as she chased the preoccupied surgeon down the corridor toward the NICU. “Dr. Robbins! Arizona!”

Arizona finally glanced over her shoulder and saw the Chief of Surgery heading her way. “Bailey? Were you calling for me?”

“I’ve been trying to get your attention since we passed the nurses’ station. Do you need to get your hearing checked?”

“What? No. I’m just...I have a lot on my mind. What can I do for you?”

“Are you covering Karev’s follow-ups this morning?”

“I’m headed there now. He’s back for non-surgical stuff tomorrow, right? Because I have a big surgery with Grey in the morning.”

“He better be,” Bailey quipped. Softening her voice, she continued, “Anyway, I need you to work tonight. I need Peds coverage for the pit.”

“What? No! I’m supposed to FaceTime with Sofia tonight! I’ve only gotten a few texts since they left!”

“Yeah, well, that’s part of the reason you need to work. Hunt and Amelia are on their honeymoon. April is on maternity leave. Stupid Karev broke his damn finger on DeLuca’s stupid face and can’t operate…And now Torres is gone―with no notice, I might add. We’re spread thin this week, and I need you.”

Arizona’s shoulders slumped in defeat. She really had been looking forward to getting on her computer and spending the evening chatting with her daughter. But Bailey needed her.

“Okay,” she relented. “You know I’ll do it. But I’m _still_ talking to Sofia tonight. I miss her, Bailey. She’s only been gone a few days and I really, really miss her.”

Perplexed by the blonde’s worry, Bailey responded, “Callie said she’d be back on Friday.”

“Right, which is why I’m willing to work for you tonight, and any other night you need me this week,” Arizona sighed, shoving her worry back down. “But I’m taking the weekend off and spending it with Sofia before she leaves again.”

Bailey’s face again twisted with confusion. “Leaves again? But Callie said-”

“Bailey! I’m spending the weekend with my daughter, no buts!”

Bailey held up her hands in surrender. “Fine.” She walked off shaking her head, mumbling about poor communication and about how nobody talked to each other anymore.

 

* * *

 

“Hi,” Arizona chirped merrily, easily maintaining her positive bedside manner as she entered her patient’s room, even with her own mental muddle. “Are you Grace King?”

The seven-year-old seated in the bed in her tiny hospital gown nodded, and the woman beside her―presumably her mother―affectionately ran her fingers through the girl’s long black box braids. “She is.” Her kind eyes ran down Arizona’s form, unnoticed by the blonde.

“Are you giving me a check-up today instead of Dr. Karev?” Grace shyly asked.

“I am,” Arizona confirmed, smiling brightly. “I’m Dr. Robbins. And, if you can believe it, I was once Dr. Karev’s _teacher_ , so I promise I’ll do a good job.”

The little girl giggled.

“You’re the best, then, huh? I’m not surprised,” the mother flirted, mouth curving into a smile.

Arizona’s eyebrows flew up, and she silently worked through the possibility that this woman was actually flirting. She shrugged humbly, joking, “I’m pretty good.” Then, she focused her attention solely on Grace; Alex had performed an emergency surgery on her ruptured appendix a few days before.

“So...” The woman cleared her throat during a lull in Arizona’s examination, wanting to keep the doctor in conversation. “You taught Dr. Karev?”

“I did,” Arizona nodded, continuing her exam. “I got him when he was a baby resident and raised him to be the awesome doctor he is today.”

“Well, Grace certainly loves him.”

Arizona knowingly squinted at the young girl, “You think he’s cute? And funny?”

Grace just giggled and nodded.

“My daughter thinks so, too,” she winked.

“You have a daughter?” the mother asked.

“I do.” Arizona couldn’t help but smile when she talked about her girl. “Her name’s Sofia. She’s six and has hair the same color as yours.” She gestured towards Grace’s braids.

“Are you married?”

But, before the question ever fully registered, the mother backtracked. “I’m sorry,” she shook her head. “My ex-wife always called me ‘excessively inquisitive.’ I tend to pry.” She groaned. “And overshare.”

 _So she_ is _flirting_ , Arizona noted. The woman was gay, had a daughter around Sofia’s age, and, admittedly, was really, really endearing. “Don’t be sorry. My ex…” She purposely paused for emphasis. “ _She_ overshares, too. I’ve learned to expect it.”

The woman’s mood visibly brightened at the word _she_ , but she didn’t say anything else right then.

After inspecting Grace’s tiny scar, Arizona gingerly pulled the gown back over her belly. “You are _healed_ ,” she announced, the news received as joyously as Christmas presents from Santa. She turned to Grace’s mother, “It looks good. No signs of infection.”

Then, she turned back to the little girl. “I am not clearing you to run around at recess yet, but you _can_ go home.”

“You hear that, baby? We can bust you outta here. And maybe…we can stop for ice cream on the way home!”

“Yay!” Grace cheered. She grinned at Arizona. “Thank you, Dr. Robbins.”

“You’re very welcome, Grace.” Arizona returned her smile, grateful for the magic of Peds that often was so easy to forget amid death and illness.

A few minutes later, as she left the examination room, the mother stopped her. “Um, Dr. Robbins?”

Arizona turned towards the woman, feeling her heart speed up. She could tell when someone was interested in her. She knew what was coming.

“I, um... _Listen_ ,” the woman tittered nervously. “I know this is usually frowned upon, but, well, you seem great. And I’d really love to get some coffee sometime. Any chance you’d be interested?”

Arizona easily began to form an excuse. “I’m flattered―super flattered―but it would be a violation of-”

“ _I’m_ not your patient,” the woman interrupted, not giving her the chance to say no. “And technically, you’re not Grace’s doctor, either.”

Arizona smiled, flattered by the woman’s persistence. “She has to come back for a follow up on Friday with Dr. Karev… maybe I’ll see you then?”

 

* * *

 

“Grey!” April exclaimed, one eye on her sleeping daughter as she raised her voice, calling out to the woman making her way through the corridor. “Meredith!”

Hearing her name, Meredith stopped short, backtracking towards April’s room. “April…?” she began, surprised. She had grown to like April. Really, she had. But, still, she was surprised to hear the woman on bed-rest call out her name.

April moved her head, looking beyond Meredith to the nurses and doctors milling beyond her room.

She’d been stuck in bed for four days. And that meant that, when Jackson or Arizona weren’t there, or when the baby was sleeping, she had nothing to do but watch. Watch and listen. Watch and listen and learn.

From her position in bed, she could see her coworkers objectively. And what she’d seen is them walking the halls as if they were haunted. Not just Arizona, whose suffering was her personal gravity, but also Alex. And Jo. And the mysteriously bruised-and-battered Deluca.

“How...are you doing?” Meredith questioned politely.

But April didn’t have the patience for niceties. She was bored. And she wanted to know what the hell was going on in the world outside.

“When are Hunt and Shepherd coming home?”

Meredith’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and then she shrugged. “Amelia doesn’t really give me details. They’re both on the surgical schedule a week from now, but I don’t know for sure. I’m not sure _they_ do, either,” she smirked.

April made a face. The sooner they were back, the better, she figured. Then the hospital would at least return to a state of relative normalcy. Hopefully.

“Why?”

April huffed. “It’s just...everything’s different. I didn’t notice how much everything had changed until now. And I wanted my baby to have this whole village of doctors and people who love her, but everyone’s…” She shrugged helplessly. “Moving on.”

Meredith pursed her lips together. She wasn’t one to coddle self-indulgent moaning, but April had a point. So many of their people had moved on. George, Izzie, Teddy, Mark, Lexie, Cristina, Derek, and now apparently Callie…

The list was continuous. People left and made their village smaller, lessening their support system.

Without Callie and Sofia, her own village was smaller and more prone to weakness. And so was Arizona’s and April’s, which prompted her to assure kindly, “Your baby has a village, April.”

April looked up, wide-eyed. “You think?”

“She does,” Meredith confirmed, smiling. “It might be different than what you imagined, but it will be just as loving.”

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, with April’s comments still on her mind, Meredith figured it was time to address the elephant in the room

“So,” she began, wrist-deep in a pregnant woman’s tumorous abdomen. “You just told her to go?”

Arizona, focused on the monitor relaying the fetus’s vitals, felt her head snap up to meet her co-surgeon’s eyes.

Meredith Grey didn’t really like her. She knew that. She had cheated on Callie, and Meredith had stopped liking her. They were cordial enough, but not close, and that sometimes made conversations between them awkward.

“I bought her two plane tickets and told her to be happy,” she replied tentatively, not allowing herself to dwell too much on how it all made her feel. She didn’t want to be vulnerable in front of Meredith. She was okay with April, or even Richard, seeing her doubts, but not Meredith.

“Hmm.” Meredith looked unconvinced.

“What?” Arizona challenged. “You don’t think I want Callie to be happy?”

“No, I know you do,” Meredith vowed. “What I can’t believe is that Callie would leave―move, even―without saying anything to me.”

“Well, she’ll be back this weekend with Sofia.” Arizona carefully watched the numbers on the monitor. “I assume she has some other stuff to wrap up before she’s gone for good, so I’m sure you’ll see her.”

The conversation lulled for a few minutes while they both concentrated on the patient in front of them.

Finally, with the last tumor dissected, Meredith invited her resident to double-check the margins and begin to close. She stepped away from the abdomen and moved around the patient to watch the fetal monitor with Arizona.

“For what it’s worth,” Meredith offered, “I know it wasn’t easy, but…you did a good thing. Everyone deserves a second chance.”

Slowly, a smile bloomed on Arizona’s face. Meredith was extending an olive branch. She was reaching out. Even though it had hurt like hell to give Callie a chance to go be in New York, at least _someone_ understood the sacrifice she’d made. “ _Thank you_.”

Meredith met her eyes, and the two women shared a quiet moment of understanding before returning to their work.

 

* * *

 

The following morning, Arizona grabbed a bagel at the hospital coffee cart, biting into it as she made her way to her office. Richard caught up to her her mid-bite.

“Robbins, what are you doing tonight?” he asked. “Care to go play some trivia?”

“Mmm.” She held up her hand while she chewed and swallowed her bite of bagel. “Can we go next week, instead? I’m swamped.”

Richard fixed her with a knowing look. “If you don’t come, are you just going to spend the night in the E.R., trolling for cases, or nursing that pint of ice cream you hid in the back of the freezer in the attendings’ lounge?”

Arizona felt her face flush red. Damn it. He knew her well. “No. Well, yes. I’ll be here. But only because Bailey asked me to. Again.”

“Uh huh.” Richard crossed his arms. “I heard some gossip about you, you know.”

“Really?” Arizona looked around to see if anyone was listening. Seeing that they were alone, she leaned in to jokingly ask, “Was it juicy?”

“Depends on your answer,” he replied. “Kepner said a patient asked you out.”

“A patient’s _mother_ ,” Arizona corrected, insistently lifting her index finger before taking another bite of her breakfast.

“Did you accept?” he inquired expectantly.

Arizona pursed her lips, feeling like a kid sent to the principal’s office, even though Richard was her friend. He respected her right to date around, and he was happy that she was happy, but he wanted her settled. He was a romantic. He wanted her looking for the one―and she knew it. “No.”

“Why not?” Richard asked. “I thought you got your groove back! You’ve been dating. Is it the patient thing?”

“Again, she’s not _my_ patient. Her daughter is.” She paused. “Wait, no. She isn’t either. She’s Karev’s patient. But it’s not…that. She’s nice. Great, even, and I liked her, but I don’t know.”

Richard sighed. “What’s going on with you? A few weeks ago, you would have been all over an attractive woman who asked you out.”

“If she’d asked me out at the bar, I probably would have accepted on the spot,” Arizona admitted. “But this felt different. This felt…”

“Like potential?” he asked hopefully.

“Yeah.”

“Robbins, I know what you’re doing here.”

Arizona waited.

“I’ve noticed how intent you are on staying single.”

Arizona waved him off. “There’s nothing wrong with being single!” She was tired of everyone thinking that marriage was the end goal. She likely would’ve never even gotten married if she hadn’t met Callie.

“You’re right, being single isn’t bad. As long as you make that choice for the right reasons,” he surrendered, eyes stilled on her face. “But I don’t think you have a good reason. I think you don’t give women a real chance because you’re protecting yourself from pain. And that’s okay. But,” he cautioned, “Make sure you’re not protecting yourself from love, too.”

 

* * *

 

April eagerly looked up as Arizona strode into her room.

“Today?” she hoped.

“That depends.” Arizona crossed her arms

“Depends on what?” April asked, then her eyes widened as a thought came to her. “I already went number two. Twice, actually.”

“I know. Rachel noted that in your chart. And you’re a surgeon, not a toddler. You don’t have to call it ‘number two.’”

“Well, then, what does it depend on?”

“Did you tell Richard about the patient asking me out?”

“Patient’s mom,” April corrected. “Did, uh, he say I did?”

“He did.”

“Then it may have slipped out when he was here last night.”

“April!” Arizona scolded. “That was a private conversation between us.”

“I’m sorry! I’m bored! And  you’re holding me hostage here!” April attempted to deflect and change the subject. “I’ve done everything you asked: lots of IV antibiotics; moving around so I don’t get stiff; freakin’ _pooping_. And it’s been _five_ _days_. I just want to take my baby _home_.”

“Fine, you can go home. I was going to make you wait until tomorrow, but if you’re healthy enough to blab my business, then I guess you’re-”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“But only if Jackson stays with you for the first few days,” Arizona finished with a hint of amused retribution. _Ha_. Though there was medical precedence for having someone stay with April post-surgery, she mostly didn’t want the new mother to be lonely.

She discharged her eager-to-get-home friend, and Jackson thanked her for the opportunity to be with his newborn for her first few days home.

 

* * *

 

Luckily, when Arizona walked into work on Friday morning, she felt like a brand-new woman. She had shed her sad gray skin for the time being, and she felt like herself again. She had spent the past week without her favorite person in the world, accepting the fact that the upcoming year would be more of the same: with her in Seattle and Sofia in New York.

Accepting that had been miserable.

But now, Sofia and Callie were coming for the weekend. Before the day was done, she would be able to wrap her arms around her little girl.

Knowing that made her feel like herself again. It made her feel whole, and she decided that she couldn’t spend the whole year miserable. She needed to move on and find someone who made her happy. Someone with potential. Someone with whom she could have a future, for more than just one night.

Which is how she found herself making her way towards the pediatric ward with the intention of ‘accidentally’ running into Grace and her mother.

She didn’t want to be too obvious. She’d only truly ever chased one woman in her life and that had…Well, she didn’t want to dwell on that, anymore. The point was: women usually sought _her_ out. That gave her the upper hand, and that was something she desperately wanted to maintain.

After checking the schedule for Grace’s appointment time, she positioned herself strategically at the nurses station to work on charts.

It came as no surprise when she heard someone call out “Dr. Robbins!” and she turned around with a smile on her face.

Grace’s mother walked towards her, and Arizona felt a rush of adrenaline. Richard was right—she’d been keeping herself from looking for love out of fear.

“Hi,” the woman smiled.

“Hi,” Arizona dimpled in return. “I never did catch your name.”

The woman’s smile widened, her teeth almost blindingly white against her smooth, dark skin. “Gail. Gail Brevis. Yours?”

“Arizona.” She held out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. _Officially_.”

“So…” the woman began uneasily, their hands still entwined. “Did you think about my offer?”

“I did.”

“And?”

Arizona inhaled a deep breath, preparing herself to be brave. “And I think I’d like to take you out for dinner.”

“That’s…great,” the woman grinned.

Arizona couldn’t help but match her expression, exposing the woman to the full force of her charm.

“I’ll…um, call you?” Gail suggested, suddenly shy in the presence of the blonde’s overwhelming beauty. It was as if Arizona had turned up her hotness a notch since deciding to give the date a chance.

Arizona pulled a business card out of the pocket of her white coat and wrote her cellphone number on the back. “I have my daughter this weekend, but how about Monday night?”

Grace nodded, purring, “Monday sounds perfect. I look forward to it. And I’ll call you,” she held up Arizona’s number. “Soon.”

Arizona watched as the woman walked down the hallway, feeling pleased with herself for giving dating―not just hooking up, _but truly dating_ ―a second chance.

Gail turned and offered one last wave before entering her daughter’s room. Arizona heaved a dreamy sigh, returning the wave and feeling like a giddy schoolgirl. Once the woman was completely out of sight, she took a deep breath and turned to leave, only to be welcomed by a sight that made her heart skip a beat.   

 

* * *

 

“Mommy!”

“Sofia!” Arizona bent down and braced herself to receive the impending bearhug from the small girl who leapt into her arms seconds later.

“Oh, my sweet girl, I missed you!” Arizona hugged her as tightly as she could, revelling in the scent and feel of the tiny person she loved more than anyone else. Forcing herself away, she stood up and faced Callie.

Unblinking, Callie watched Arizona stand and met her gaze. “Hi.”

Arizona raised her eyebrows in expectation, an elated smile permanently fixed to her face. “What are you two doing here so early? I didn’t expect to see you until tonight.”

Callie shrugged. “You asked for her back by the weekend. I figured the earlier, the better.”

“Thank you.”

Arizona studied her ex’s face carefully, no longer able to read her like she had before.

Callie did look happy, though. Her flawless complexion glowed, and the normally light smattering of freckles across her nose had darkened, as if they’d been kissed by the sun. New York looked good on her. “Are things…?”

Callie smiled. “Things are good,” she confirmed vaguely. “I, uh, I have a lot of stuff to take care of this weekend, but I can bring her down to daycare now if you have a busy schedule. I have to go talk to Bailey, anyway.”

“No, I’ll…” Arizona looked down at Sof, her hand instantaneously coming up to smooth straight brown hair. The thought of leaving her for even a moment was almost unbearable; and, god, she had hardly survived a week without her, so how was she supposed to withstand a whole year? “I’ll set her up in my office with an intern. I can leave after rounds. Thanks again for bringing her here so early.”

Callie nodded, offering a close-lipped smile, then focused her attention on Sofia. “You be good for Mommy, okay?”

“I will!” Sofia turned her head, grinning up at her mom, and Arizona immediately returned the gesture.

“I guess I’ll see you Monday…and we can talk then? Work everything out?” Callie suggested.

Arizona nodded. “Sounds good.”

Fearlessly, Callie leaned towards the blonde, her words tickling Arizona’s ear as she whispered, “I’ll take her off your hands Monday evening so that you can enjoy your date.”

Arizona’s eyes widened, _Oh no_. “You heard?”

Callie just grinned, offering a gentle wave to both Arizona and Sofia as she turned to leave. “You two have fun! I’ll see you on Monday.”


	2. Episode 2: I've Got You Under My Skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode 2 Summary: Callie reveals some news. Arizona has a date that goes unexpectedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a collaborative effort from tumblr users nyladream, mamarobbins, and the zenparadox.

_ “But each time I do,  _

_ just the thought of you, _

_ makes me stop before I begin.” _

 

* * *

 

After a blissful, laughter and fun-filled weekend spent with Sofia, Arizona regretted being paged into work on Monday morning. She raced to the hospital, dropped off Sofia at daycare, and headed for the ambulance bay, pulling on a pair of surgical gloves in her haste.

“What do we have?”

The on-call trauma surgeon looked towards her. “An MVA patient is being transferred from Seattle Pres. She has a medial malleolus fracture with dislocation that was reduced on site, but she needs surgery. Ortho’s been paged.”

“Why am I here, then?” 

“The patient is twenty-three weeks pregnant and, during the exam, the doctor noticed a possible congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation and sent her here to you.”

“Great,” Arizona muttered under her breath. She loved her job—everything about it. She loved it so much that some people might have even considered her a workaholic.

But Callie and Sofia were about to go back to New York, and that was going to hurt—having to say goodbye again was going to _ hurt _ —so Arizona wasn’t really in the mood to be the bearer of bad news to a poor pregnant woman. If there was, in fact, something wrong with the woman’s fetus, Arizona didn’t want to add to her upset by breaking a mother’s heart.

But that was part of the job, so she waited in the crisp morning air, wearing her trauma gown and a prominent frown, while the other surgeon headed back into the ER to oversee another emergency.

As the sirens in the distance screamed closer, Arizona heard the  _ woosh _ of the automatic doors open and shut behind her, and, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of familiar form running towards her.

_ Callie _ .

Before she could so much as inhale a sharp breath, Callie was standing beside her, gloved up and facing forward, as if it were just another normal day.

Arizona couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing. Frozen in shock, she stared at her ex-wife’s face. “You’re...working?”

Callie turned to face her, confronting confused and stormy blue eyes. After a long moment, she offered simply, “I said I’d see you on Monday.”

“So we could  _ talk _ ...” Arizona finished uneasily. “And work out our schedule for the year.”

“And so I could pick up Sofia before your date,” Callie added slyly.

Arizona shook her head, waving off the comment. “You never said anything about you  _ working _ . You quit. What are you doing here...gloved up?”

Before she could get any real answers, the ambulance pulled up, and Callie immediately went into doctor-mode, hurrying towards the rig. 

“Callie, wait,” Arizona ventured tentatively, stopping Callie in her tracks.

“Are you staying?”

Before the back doors to the ambulance flew open and the chaos of the incoming trauma took over, Callie took a moment to look at Arizona. 

A soft smile formed on her lips. “I’m staying.”

 

* * *

 

Not even an hour later, Arizona hurried into the scrub room where Callie had just finished cleaning under her fingernails with a sterile file and was now scrubbing between her fingers. 

Callie glanced briefly in the direction of the door, then turned back to her task when she saw that it was Arizona. “She needs at least three pins,” she explained. “How’s the baby? Still stable enough for me to go in?”

Arizona nodded. “The baby’s fine. The cyst was small, and I can wait until she’s born to do the surgery. I’d like to monitor him and the mom while you operate, though. Just in case.”

“Sounds great,” Callie smiled. “It’s been awhile since we’ve been in the OR together.”

“Callie…” Arizona began. “We need to talk.” She deserved some answers. What was Callie  _ doing _ ?

Callie inhaled a deep breath. “We will,” she confirmed. “I’ll, uh, I’ll see you in there.” With her hands held up in front of her, she backed through the door and into the operating theater.

Arizona growled in frustration, stepped up to the sink, and began scrubbing in.

 

* * *

 

Twenty minutes into the surgery, Callie could feel Arizona’s eyes on her. Her ex-wife clearly wanted an explanation, and she deserved one. And while the OR wasn’t the time or the place to have that conversation, Callie couldn’t ignore the troubled eyes any longer.

“I know you have questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them,” she began. “But, now’s the time to ask, because I’m going to need to start drilling soon.” 

“Did she not want you back?”

“What?”

“Blake,” Arizona clarified. “Did she change her mind and not want you there?”

Callie looked up and made eye contact with the fiery blue eyes of her inquisitor. “No. She had nothing to do with my decision. I haven’t even talked to her since she left.”

That was news to Arizona. “Where did you go, then?”

“I went to Miami.”

Arizona’s eyes bulged. “Miami? What…?” Her expression changed as realization dawned on her. “Huh. I guess that’s why Sofia said she liked the beach when I asked her if she’d had a good time in New York. I just assumed you went to Cherry Grove or something. But Miami...”

“Daddy says ‘hi,’ by the way.” Callie turned to Dr. Wilson, who was assisting, and held up the drill. “You wanna do the honors?”

“Do I!?” Of course she did.

After making sure her resident had secured the drill, Callie turned back to Arizona. “We can finish this conversation later.”

“Tonight,” Arizona insisted. 

“You have your  _ date  _ tonight,” Callie reminded her.

The sound of the drill permeated the room before Arizona could respond.

 

* * *

 

That night, after putting the baby to bed and sending the older kids upstairs to watch a movie, Callie and Meredith headed towards the living room to catch up on the past week. Maggie had been called into work, so it was just the two of them.

Pouring herself a glass of wine, Callie joined Meredith on the couch, tucking one leg under the other. “Are Owen and Amelia home yet?”

“Not that I’ve heard,” Meredith replied. “But Amelia doesn’t check in with me, so....”

“Where did they go for their honeymoon? Did they tell you that?”

Meredith took a sip of her tequila then narrowed her eyes at her friend. “That’s really what you want to talk about?”

Callie offered no response, choosing instead to focus on the contents of her glass, in an attempt to avoid Meredith’s glare.

Exhaling a long breath, Meredith sat her bottle on the coffee table before straightening up and bringing her gaze back to Callie’s face.

Finally, Callie sighed. “If you want to know, just ask me.”

Meredith crossed her arms, leaning back against the sofa before giving in. “Why didn’t you go?”

Callie shrugged, stubbornly offering only: “Because.”

Meredith shook her head. “Nope. That’s not a reason, Callie. Not a reasonable reason.”

“Why does my reason have to be ‘reasonable’?” Callie protested. “Why can’t I just say  _ because  _ and leave it at that?”

“Do you remember taking Arizona to court?”

Callie held up her index finger as she corrected, “Technically,  _ she  _ called a lawyer first, so I think the argument could be made that she-”

Meredith fixed her with a fierce glare, not willing to allow her friend to delude herself. “Callie.” 

Briefly shutting her eyes, Callie nodded in surrender, admitting, “Right. Fine. I took her to court.”

Meredith waited.

“I let my lawyer to drag her through the mud in that courtroom and, still, she…” 

Callie paused, taking a long gulp of wine. She wanted to avoid this conversation. She didn’t want to think about her own motivations, much less  _ explain  _ them. 

But Meredith was persistent, and she was a good friend, so Callie knew she had to explain herself. 

“She didn’t  _ have  _ to make this grand gesture—to tell me to go and take Sof with me—but she did.” She paused. “She made a huge sacrifice, and I couldn’t leave after that. I just…I couldn’t leave after she did that for me.”

 

* * *

 

Gail led Arizona into a small contemporary fine-dining restaurant in downtown Seattle. It was well lit, just-elegant-enough, and quiet—and Arizona wasn’t sure that was a good thing. In fact, she had almost cancelled on her date and used a “patient emergency” as an excuse, but ultimately decided she could use the distraction.

The truth was that Arizona couldn’t stop thinking about Callie’s news that she and Sofia were staying. 

On one hand, she was happy that her daughter would still be with her, but on the other hand…

After everything that happened, she couldn’t believe that Callie had just… _ not gone.  _ She had given Callie a gift, one Callie seemed grateful for but had rejected it. What did that mean? 

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts and forcing herself into polite, flirtatious first-date-mode.

“This place is adorable,” she complimented after they took their seats. “How did you find it?” She figured she’d better at least make an  _ attempt  _ at pleasant conversation. 

“Oh, I work for ‘The Seattle Times,’ and my office is right next to our food blogger’s. She always has the best suggestions for new places to try.”

_ But, seriously, why didn’t Callie go to New York? _ “Have you been to this one before? It looks good.”

“I haven’t, actually. I hope it’s as good as she says. I’d hate to disappoint you on our first date.”

When Arizona didn’t immediately reply, Gail smiled shyly, looking a little nervous as she added, “I have to be honest with you...this is my first date since my divorce.”

Arizona’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Last week you seemed so…”

“Pushy?” the woman finished, her lips quirking up into a guilty smile.

Arizona smiled back. “Determined,” she maintained. It was true that Gail had been forward, but Arizona liked that. She hadn’t met a woman who’d really challenged her since Callie. _Who is staying in Seattle_ , she remembered. 

The woman blushed.. “I’m sorry if I came on too strong.” 

“It worked,” Arizona replied, smiling, “Here we are.”

“I know. I’m glad,” Gail smiled back. Already, she was enjoying her time with the charming and gorgeous woman seated across from her; and when the waiter approached their table a few seconds later, she ordered them a bottle of white wine. 

As soon as he left, she continued: “I’ve been reluctant to get back out there until now, you know? It’s not easy, especially with a daughter.”

Arizona lifted her glass of water to her lips. “How long have you been divorced?”

“Not long,” Gail admitted. “It’s still a little fresh. How about you?”

“Me? Oh…” she closed her eyes, silently recalling  _ exactly  _ how long it had been. “Years,” she generalized. “It’s been years.”

“So you’re used to the dating scene?”

Arizona made a face.  _ Not exactly _ , she thought. The casual nights out with the women she’d met didn’t count as ‘dating,’ in her mind, but she played it off. “With my job, I don’t really have a lot of time for dates.”

“I’m honored you made time for me, then.”

“Mmm,” Arizona hummed distractedly, which didn’t go unnoticed by her dinner companion. Gail was about to ask what was wrong, but the waiter interrupted, delivering warm breadsticks and their wine. As he poured them each a glass, Arizona grabbed hers directly out of his hand and took a large gulp. 

She needed to drink. She needed to stop thinking about Callie. To stop reeling from their earlier conversation. 

She knew that it wasn’t the time to process the little information Callie had shared. She needed to focus on the beautiful woman sitting across from her—not on her ex-wife.

Gail’s eyes widened with surprise at the blonde’s behavior. While she noted that Arizona had seemed a little preoccupied since she’d picked her up, she figured nerves were to blame. But, apparently, far more was going on. 

“Thirsty?” 

Arizona nodded, taking another long sip.  _ Why was Callie staying?! _

“Well then…Cheers.” She held up her own glass in salute. 

“Oh, yeah…cheers,” Arizona smiled as she feigned touching her glass to the other woman’s, then quickly downed the rest of her wine. She needed a to get her mind off of Callie. Big time.

The woman bit her lip, not sure whether to laugh or worry, offering, “You seem...distracted, Arizona. Should we reschedule?”

“Oh…it’s just my ex-wife.” Arizona reached for the wine bottle and poured herself another generous glass. “She dropped some big news on me today, and I don’t know what to think about it.”

“Bad news?” Gail worried.

“No…not bad, just… not what I expected,” Arizona replied honestly. “I did something for her that I thought would make her happy, because…that’s all I want. She seemed sad, and I wanted her to be happy.”

Gail’s eyebrows flew up at that statement.

When she saw the other woman’s reaction, Arizona realized how she must have sounded. “For our daughter!” she quickly added. “I want her to be happy...so that our daughter can be happy.”

 

* * *

 

“But you were happy with Penny, right?” Meredith insisted, remembering, “You missed her when she left. You were sad without her.”

“I  _ was _ happy with Penny, and I did miss her, but…that wasn’t the only reason I was sad. The whole thing with Arizona and the custody battle-”

“ _ Oh _ .” Meredith sat back as if having a sudden realization. “You’re staying out of guilt!” she accused. “How is that any different than staying because you’re stuck? Neither is what you want.”

“I’m not staying out of guilt!” Callie defended. “I  _ want  _ to stay. My life is here.” She shook her head and exhaled her sudden ire, calming herself in the process. “I don’t know. I guess I realized that Penny wasn’t enough for me. I couldn’t burn every bridge I had here for her. I couldn’t throw away everything I’d earned.” 

Then, she paused. She hated saying the oncoming part out loud—even though it was the truth. “Meredith, I took Arizona to court and let my lawyer call her a slut and a bad mother. After that, I had to take a good long look at myself and, god...” she trailed off, her shame evident.   

Meredith didn’t say anything, allowing her friend time to process.

After a moment, Callie’s brows furrowed. “I realized that, somewhere along the way, I reverted back to the old me.” She shook her head. “The  _ me  _ who didn’t think about the consequences of her actions. The  _ me  _ who got married on a whim in Vegas. The  _ me  _ who let too much time pass after...” 

The last part came out as a whisper, but Meredith heard it. And she wanted to comment on it, but instead, she reached for the bottle of tequila and took a long pull. After recovering from the burn of the warm alcohol assaulting her throat, she sighed, “I really hoped you and Penny would work out.”

“Really?” That surprised Callie, given the volatile nature of Meredith and Penny’s early interactions. She’d thought that Meredith only warmed up to Penny because of her loyalty.

“Yeah,” Meredith admitted. “I liked the idea of you getting a second chance at love, you know?”

Callie furrowed her brow, unsure of what Meredith meant.

“I figured that, if you got to love again after your marriage ended, then maybe I could, too. So I rooted for you two to make it, because it meant that maybe  _ I _ wouldn’t always be alone.”

“Meredith…”

Meredith held up her hand. “Don’t get me wrong, I know I’ll never have another Derek. He was  _ The One _ ―my one true love― but I thought...maybe, I could find a Penny, too.” 

Callie scrunched up her nose. “You want a Penny?” 

“I don’t know. I want something, because I like sex.” She and Callie shared a chuckle. “But also…I want to not be lonely.” 

Callie understood that better than anyone. “You’ll get a second chance at love, Meredith. Derek wouldn’t want it any other way. And maybe I will, too”

“What if Penny was your best shot?”

“I don’t think she was,” Callie maintained. “If there’s one thing I’ve realized in all this mess, it’s that doing things just to not be lonely is no way to live. You can’t force love. You can’t ignore the signs. You can’t make something work that isn’t meant to be.”

 

* * *

 

A bottle of wine, dinner, and various attempts at changing the conversation later, Gail had given up on getting Arizona to discuss another subject, so she just leaned back and allowed the other woman to drunkenly vent.

“I mean, if they were so  _ meant to be _ , why wouldn’t Callie go?”

“I don’t know,” Gail began. “Maybe-”

“She had her _Perfect Penny_!” Arizona interrupted. “She fought for Perfect Penny— _fought_ _me_. After all that, why wouldn’t she go?”

“Maybe… Perfect Penny wasn’t so perfect?”

Arizona waved her off. “ _ Please _ . She made Callie happier than she’s  _ ever  _ been. She-”

“Maybe Callie was overcompensating?” the woman suggested, attempting to be diplomatic.

Arizona’s brows knit together as she contemplated Gail’s statement. She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward on the table. “What do you mean?”

“It’s possible that she was trying to convince herself she was happy by talking about how happy she was all the time.”

“Hmmm.” Arizona mulled that thought over. “But  _ why _ , specifically? Why would she pretend?”

Gail chuckled. “I don’t know, Arizona.” By that point, she knew there wouldn’t be a second date. Arizona was adorable—even drunk out of her mind—but she was seriously hung up on her ex. “I don’t know Callie. Why do  _ you _ think she would pretend?”

 

* * *

 

Meredith came down the stairs and settled back on the couch. “They’re all out cold. Sofia and Zola are snuggled up together, and Bailey barely flinched when I tucked him into bed.”

Callie smiled. “ _ Now _ do you see why I stayed? At least, part of the reason I stayed. Sofia needs  _ this _ more than I need Penny.”

“And Arizona?”

“What about her?”

“Come on, Callie.” Meredith rolled her eyes. “Let’s not pretend that this isn’t about her, too.”

“Ugh,” Callie groaned, not ready to articulate those thoughts yet. She’d gone to Miami seeking clarity, and she found it, but she wasn’t sure she could put her realizations into words. 

“Of course it’s about her. She’s Sofia’s mom, so everything’s about her, too. The trial was a big reminder of that...not that I forgot, I just...” She closed her eyes and leaned further into the couch. “It will always be about her because she was my Derek,” she confessed. “We just couldn’t make it work.”

“Why not?” Meredith was genuinely curious, as Callie had always been reluctant to talk about the demise of her marriage. 

“We just couldn’t.”

“But why not?” Meredith pressed.

“Mer-”

“Seriously, Callie. I want to know. Was it the cheating? Wait…was it the sex? Was the sex bad?”

“No! The sex was great.  _ Really  _ great.” Callie sighed wistfully. Really _ , really  _ great. “There was no defining moment that led to our divorce, it was just…”

“ _ A Series of Unfortunate Events _ ?” Meredith supplied, smirking in jest. At Callie’s raised eyebrow, she explained, “Maggie’s been reading it with Zola.”

“Well, yeah,” Callie surrendered honestly. “That pretty much describes it.” The demise of their marriage had, indeed, been a series of unfortunate events.

“I think that describes all our relationships. Maybe the hospital’s cursed. You should have gotten out when you had the chance,” Meredith chuckled.

“You really believe that?”

“No. Some horrible things have happened to us here, but…this is where I found my family. It’s where I met Derek. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

“I wouldn’t trade my time with Arizona, either.”

“Then why did you?” Meredith could be a pushy drunk. 

“Because she was my Derek, but I wasn’t sure I was her, uh…you.” Callie’s face twisted at the words. “This metaphor is getting weird.”

“Yeah,” Meredith agreed, shaking her head. 

They both took generous sips of their drinks before Meredith continued, “Wait, so you thought she didn’t love you?”

“No, she did. She loved me at one point, but…I also knew the moment I promised to save her leg that we would never be the same. I knew it was a long shot and that, if I couldn’t save it, she’d never forgive me. No matter how hard we tried, from the time she woke up, there was a shift. Everything was different, and we couldn't get us back. And I tried, Mer. I really did.”

“I know.” She’d seen how hard her friend had tried. For years.

“I wasn’t enough to bring her back.”

Meredith pondered that for a second then shrugged, offering, “Maybe it wasn’t your job to bring her back. Maybe you needed to let her find herself.”

Callie nodded. “You’re right. And she has. I’ve done a lot of things wrong over the years―made a lot of bad decisions. But  _ this _ ? Staying in Seattle? This isn’t one of them. It’s the right thing to do. New York with Penny wasn’t my happy ending. I may not know what form my happy ending will take, but I know it wasn’t that.”

 

* * *

 

Arizona noisily flagged down the waiter. “More wine, please!”

Sitting on the other side of the small table, Gail attempted in vain to catch the man’s eye, silently pleading,  _ please, no more wine! _

Arizona was plenty drunk already, having nearly downed an entire bottle by herself. And, worse, more wine meant extending their excruciating date even longer.

She watched as Arizona’s processing continued, the blonde harshly throwing her cloth napkin down on the table. “I can’t believe her!”

Gail sat silently, wide-eyed.

“I was nice! I told her to go and get her happy ending, and she didn’t listen!” Callie was as headstrong as always, and it was infuriating.

“Well-”

“She’s an idiot!” the blonde affirmed. “What kind of person just lets the woman she loves go? I mean, what kind of person just lets her heart get ripped out of her chest without even fighting for what  _ she  _ wants?”

Gail wasn’t even sure Arizona was talking about Callie, anymore.

“I’m gonna call her,” the blonde decided.

“Arizona, I don’t think that’s-”

“I’m gonna call her,” she repeated, reaching for her phone. “And I’m gonna tell her that she’s an idiot. I mean…how could she do something so stupid?”

And then she was dialing Callie’s number, one that—even drunk, Gail noted— she knew by heart.

 

* * *

 

Meredith was in the kitchen refilling Callie’s glass of wine when the buzzed brunette heard the sound of a phone ringing.

“Phone!” Callie alerted Meredith, not so loud as to wake the kids upstairs.

“Are you sure it’s mine?” Meredith asked, handing her friend her drink. 

“Sofia had mine earlier, so it has to be yours.”

“I don’t remember where I put it.”

“Um...” Callie sat up on the couch and looked around, trying to locate where the ringing was coming from. “It stopped.”

“If it’s important, they’ll call back.”

“Unless it was a booty call,” Callie grinned, wiggling her brows.

Meredith made a face. “No one wants my widow booty.”

“I’m sure there is  _ someone  _ out there who wants your widow booty, Mer. You just have to be open to the possibility. Be available.”

Meredith picked up her bottle of tequila and took another swig. She eyed Callie for a moment, weighing her options, then finally blurted, “I did something kind of stupid.”

Callie looked up. “What?”

“After you left. Or, well, it happened before. But, then, during the wedding, we did that sexy-stare thing—you know what I’m talking about—and-”

“Meredith…” Callie began, a knowing smile spreading across her lips. She could tell that Meredith’s inner struggle had to do with a man, and she was eager to learn more. “What did you do?”

“I slept with Nathan Riggs. Once or twice.”

Callie’s eyebrows shot up. “Was it once or twice?”

Meredith looked down. “Four times, actually.”

“Oh my god!” Callie exclaimed. “Was it good?”

“ _ Four times _ , Callie. You don’t go back for another round—much less three—if the sex is bad. He was pretty smug about it, and with good reason.”

“And the stupid part?”

“Maggie.”

“Maggie?”

“She likes him.  _ Likes  _ him, likes him.”

“Oh,” Callie exhaled. “Does she know?”

“No, and we’re keeping it that way.” 

“If you like him….”

“I don’t. She does.”

Callie gave her a knowing look. “You went back for more. A lot more. You  _ like  _ him.”

“But I _ love  _ Maggie, so I want her to be happy.”

 

* * *

 

“It went to voicemail,” Arizona explained with a drunken sigh, pointing towards the phone.

“Just hang up,” Gail suggested. “You can always talk to her tomorrow.”

But Arizona just shook her head, silencing her date with her finger and a “shhhh!” as she heard the BEEEEP. 

“Hi, Calliope, it’s, um,” she slurred, hand nervously coming up to run through her wavy blonde tresses. “It’s me, Arizona. I just…”

“I’m calling to tell you that you’re an idiot! You should have gone to New York and fought for who you love. If…Wait, you do love her, right? Because you would just go on and on  _ and on _ about her, and...” 

She paused, attempting to reign in her jealousy. “She was perfect,  _ apparently _ , so why would you throw that away?” 

She stopped for a moment as if waiting for an answer, then continued, “I just want you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted, and I know I lost sight of that for a long time, but this is what I can do for you. To make you happy,” she added with a soulful sigh.

Gail could barely contain her mirth. _Man_ , she thought, _she has it_ bad.

“But you’re staying. And I just want to make sure you’re happy to be staying, because I want you to be happy.” She met her date’s watchful eyes, suddenly realizing how love-sick she must have sounded.

Which wouldn’t have bothered her, if it weren’t for the fact that Callie would hear the message, too. And remembering that left her panicked. 

So, quickly, she backtracked. “And also...I just want  _ me  _ to be happy. And Sofia, and… and everyone. I want everyone to be happy, because everyone’s happiness is really important to me,” she finished ineloquently. 

“Anyway, I’m sorry I called you an idiot. That was mean. You’re actually smart.  _ Really  _ smart. Like...a genius.” She rolled her eyes at her own inability to end the call gracefully. “Okay, I just...ugh...have a great night! Bye!” She quickly pressed the button on the phone to end the call.

Arizona looked at her date and cringed. “How pathetic was that?”

Gail regarded the other woman with sympathy. “Honestly? About an eight, eight and half. It was hard to watch.”

Arizona groaned and laid her head on the table in defeat. “Maybe  _ I _ should move to New York.”

At that, the waiter arrived and cheerfully offered, “Will you ladies be having dessert?”

“No!” Gail exclaimed. “Just the check.”

Without picking up her head from the table, Arizona lifted her hand to take their bill from the waiter. “Tonight’s on me.”

 

* * *

 

The second Arizona saw Callie round the corner and begin walking down the hallway the following morning, she felt her heart speed up—and not in a good way. She’d left that terribly embarrassing voicemail, and there was no avoiding it.

She watched as Chief Bailey passed the brunette, stopping to chide, “Torres, you’re late! You have a hip replacement in ten minutes.”

“I know, I know,” Callie apologized. “I stayed at Mer’s last night and haven’t even had time to check my voicemail, let alone the schedule.”

“You two drink too much last night?” Bailey asked, unamused. “You should’ve been resting up. We’ve got a busy day ahead.”

“What? Why?”

“There’s a storm coming,” Bailey explained. “Rain means accidents. And accidents mean broken bones.”

Callie made a face. “ _ More _ rain?” She missed the Miami heat already.

Bailey rolled her eyes, joking, “Maybe you  _ should _ ’ _ ve _ gone to New York.”

As her friend walked away, Callie refocused on her phone, tapping on a missed voicemail from Arizona. 

_ When did she call?  _

A mere fifteen feet away, however, the blonde could only idly watch in horror as Callie held up her phone to her ear.

She knew what was coming, and it wasn’t good. In fact, it was perhaps the most embarrassing thing on the planet.

Slinking back against the wall, she prepared for the horrified reaction that was sure to come, but oddly, it didn’t. 

Instead, as Callie finished listening to the garbled yet oh-so-endearing message from the obviously intoxicated blonde, her lips curled up. 

And she was about to listen to the message for a second time when she spotted Arizona watching her like a hawk.

Inadvertently locking eyes with the brunette, Arizona nearly bolted. But, realizing it was better to address the awkwardness head-on, she faltered towards her ex-wife. 

Coming to a stop a few feet away, Arizona offered a cautious smile, breathing, “Hey.” She didn’t really want to explain herself—and, really, she wasn’t sure she had to—but she did want to move past it.

Stomach fluttering, Callie replied with an understanding smile of her own. “Hey.”

“I assume you heard all...that?” Arizona gestured to the phone.

Callie nodded and tried her best not to smile too widely. “I did.” She didn’t want Arizona to think she was ridiculing her.  

“I’m sor-” Arizona started to apologize, but Callie interrupted her with a quick and decisive, “Don’t be.”

They stared at each other in silence, and in that moment, Arizona realized there was nothing to be embarrassed about. 

She was glad that Callie had heard the message.

And with that knowledge, Arizona boldly stated, “For the record…I’m happy you didn’t go to New York.”

Callie answered with a soft nod, vowing, “I’m happy, too.” 


	3. Episode 3: Waiting Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode 3 Summary: Conversations and games lead to some clarity.

_ “Your love is a waiting game...” _

 

* * *

 

Leaving the house on time for once, Callie expertly maneuvered her car through Seattle’s busy morning traffic. As Sofia chattered in the backseat about her plans for the day, Callie’s thoughts drifted to Arizona―a regular occurrence in the two weeks since she received the voicemail.  

The voicemail that she’d listened to every night since. 

Callie couldn’t help it. The message was adorable. Between the blonde’s grand gesture and her own decision to stay in Seattle, she had become consumed by Arizona. And she had been trying to sort out her feelings―and there were definitely feelings―but she wasn’t quite ready to acknowledge them out loud just yet.

And she was so wrapped up in thinking about those feelings that she missed a question from Sofia.

“Mama!” Sofia repeated. “Did you hear me?”

“Um…” Callie bit her lip, lying, “Yeah.”

In the backseat, Sofia crossed her arms. “What did I say, then?” she tested.

_ Shit _ . “Sorry, sweetie,” she sighed, offering her daughter a guilty smile. “Can you repeat your question?”

“I asked if you or Mommy’s taking me to practice tonight.”

“I’m taking you tonight.” Callie affirmed instantly. Due to conflicting work schedules, Arizona had taken Sofia to her first two practices. Now that Callie was finally  available, she was looking forward to being able to go to one. “Is that okay?” 

“Yeah!”

“Did you bring your cleats, or do we have to get them before practice?”

“Mommy’s bringing them for me.”

“Oh, good,” Callie smiled. That meant she had a reason to see the woman on her mind.

 

* * *

 

Arizona and Andrew walked through the doors of the hospital together, having taken advantage of carpooling while the young resident recovered from his injuries inflicted by Alex Karev. Ever since the misunderstanding, Andrew had been on a lighter and more structured nine-to-five work schedule.

Neither him, nor Alex, had been able to perform surgery, and Bailey had been livid for weeks. It was bad enough that Alex had broken a finger, but the resident’s injuries were more severe and visible―he’d even suffered an orbital fracture, which had resulted in extensive swelling and a consult from a specialist. 

Andrew pressed the button on the elevator and the two waited for its arrival. 

“Oh, Dr. Robbins?” Ever the professional, he never called her ‘Arizona’ at the hospital. “I forgot to tell you, I have my final follow-up with the surgical ophthalmologist this afternoon. Will you need me to swing by and pick you up tonight, or-”

Arizona shook her head. “No, I’m good. It’s trivia night, so I’m going out with Dr. Webber. I’ll get a ride home.”

He nodded, smirking a little. He knew what trivia night meant.

“Wait.” Arizona tilted her head in question, “You didn’t see the opthamologist here?”

“No,” he shuddered. “Dr. Butts is…a complete ass.” 

“I can’t argue with that,” Arizona chuckled. No one at the hospital liked the man. “Who’d you use?”

“Dr. Canner. She has a private practice downtown, and-”

Arizona’s eyes widened at the name. “Julia?” 

Andrew nodded. “I think so. You know her?”

“I used to,” Arizona admitted. Thinking of Julia reminded her of a time when everything in her life had been happy and carefree. A time when her family had been intact. “How’s she doing?” she asked, a hint of melancholy lacing her voice.

“She seems fine to me.” Andrew shrugged. “Why are you so interested? Old girlfriend?” he joked, nudging her with his elbow.

“Not of mine.”

“Oh, Dr. Torres?”

“No, no. Sofia’s father. He uh…” She paused. “I haven’t seen her since before everything went to crap.”

The elevator dinged its arrival, and the two surgeons continued chatting as they prepared to begin their busy days.

 

* * *

 

“Hey,” came a voice as someone moved through the doorway of the lab, effectively breaking Callie’s concentration. “You busy?”

Callie looked up as Miranda Bailey strode towards her, setting down her kale smoothie and pulling up a chair. 

“Not anymore, I guess,” Callie replied with a teasing smile, turning to give the chief her full attention. She knew that if Bailey was there, it was for a reason. “What can I do for you?”

“Actually,” Bailey clarified, “I was wondering what I could do for  _ you _ .” 

Callie’s eyebrows knit together in confusion.

“I’m the chief,” Bailey clarified. “It’s my job to take care of my people. So I’m checking in.”

Callie’s brows shot up. “You’re…‘checking in’?” she quoted in disbelief. That seemed out of character.

Bailey rolled her eyes. “Torres, don’t argue! It’s something I do, now! I check in!”

Callie laughed. “Fine. Check away. What do you want to know?”

Bailey was a straight-to-the-point kind of woman, and she didn’t need to waste time with politeness or be asked twice. She’d come prepared with questions she wanted answers to. 

Crossing her arms, she wondered, “I’ve been wanting to ask you since you got back from Miami. I heard a rumor that Arizona gave you her blessing to go to New York...but here you are. What happened?”

“Nothing  _ happened _ ,” Callie insisted. “I just realized that I didn’t want to leave home.”

Bailey sensed there was more to it. “You and Blake?”

Callie released an exhausted sigh. She was tired of talking about her ex-girlfriend. She was done with her. “We’ve been over for months,” she stated emphatically. “I haven’t even talked to her.”

“Hmm...” 

“Bailey, are you judging me, again?” 

“If I judged the people in this hospital on their love lives, you’d all be fired.” 

Wanting to prevent Bailey from any further questioning, Callie eagerly changed the subject. “Speaking of love lives, how’s the salsa dancing?”

“What?”

“I bet you like to lead, don’t you?” Callie wiggled her eyebrows. “Are you Ben’s boss in the bedroom, too?” 

“Torres! My vajayjay is none of your business.” 

Callie grinned at Bailey’s horrified expression, happy to have successfully steered the conversation away from her own private life.  

“So, why are you really here, Bailey? I know you’re not here to talk about either of our vaginas.”

Bailey took a deep breath, recentering herself. “The Armed Forces Amputee Coalition contacted me, again. And I figured, now that you’re staying and continuing your work, you might reconsider their offer.”  

Callie bristled at the suggestion. “Bailey, I don’t deserve an award,” she countered. “Especially not from wounded veterans.”

“It’s not an award!” the chief maintained. “It’s a charity event, where you’ll be one of many people in the Seattle area who are honored for going above and beyond to help wounded veterans.” 

At that, Callie began to soften. That is, until Bailey continued, “You probably wouldn’t even have to speak.”

“I might have to give a speech?” Callie squeaked, eyes bulging.

“No, no,” Bailey quickly backtracked, fibbing, “I’m sure you won’t. You’ll probably just have to schmooze with donors, and your name might be announced with other honorees. You can even take a date… or find someone there to salsa with.” That earned her a smile from Callie.

“Look,” Bailey continued. “Just think about it. It’s an honor for you, and it wouldn’t be bad publicity for the hospital. You have a huge heart and an even greater talent. You deserve the honor. You earned it.”

Callie eyed the materials in front of her—the notes and hardware to the prototype of a new-and-improved prosthetic leg she’d begun. It had been months since she last thought about the project, having distracted herself with the idea of leaving everything behind. 

And, in retrospect, she realized the scope of her moving away was beyond what it did to her relationship with Arizona and to Arizona’s relationship with Sofia. The decision had affected more people than she cared to think about.

While on the beach in Miami, she’d had plenty of time to think about the consequences of her rash decision and why she had felt so stuck. She’d mistaken infatuation and excitement for love and passion. Being bound to Seattle and the rules of the new custody arrangement had left her feeling sorry for herself. But when Arizona had given her an out, immediately, she’d known she hadn’t wanted it. She wasn’t stuck, after all. She was free. 

“And for what it’s worth,” Bailey added with a good-natured poke to Callie’s shoulder. “I’m glad you stayed. I liked Blake, and she was a decent doctor, but  _ you _ are  _ exceptional _ and should work at a place where your talents are appreciated. A demotion in New York would have diminished what was so special about you, and you deserve to shine.”

 

* * *

 

After one final look in the mirror, Arizona grabbed her bag, locking up her office and heading out for the evening. As she made her way to the elevator, she spotted her protégé at the nurses’ station. “Dr. Karev,” she greeted him, somewhat coldly.  

“Oh, come on,” he grumbled. “You can’t still be mad at me.”

“Oh, yes I can! You beat up my roommate and a fellow doctor! And neither of you will tell me why!”

“Because it’s none of your business.”

“Alex,” Arizona began, softening her tone. “I’m your friend. You can talk to me. If something’s going on with Jo and DeLuca and y-”

“There’s nothing going on!” he interrupted.

“So you just beat him up for no reason?”

“It was a misunderstanding. That’s all. Not everyone is a cheater.”

Arizona felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. She narrowed her eyes, “That’s a low blow.” 

Alex sighed, feeling guilty that his mentor had taken his words personally. “I wasn’t talking about you. I just…” He paused. “It’s not what you think. And I don’t want to talk about it.” 

“Fine,” Arizona relented. “But you need to fix things with DeLuca. You can’t just ignore the fact that you assaulted him. Your actions affect more than just you! I don’t like feeling stuck in the middle, worrying about you two. I have my own stuff to deal with right now.” 

“Nobody asked you to worry.”

“Yet here I am, worrying. You broke your finger! What if the damage had ended your career?” she scolded. “Or _ his _ career? He had to see an ocular surgeon! You’re lucky he didn’t press charges.”

“I know! Alright?  _ I know _ . And I already feel bad about it, so you don’t have to tell me what I did wrong.” 

“I know I don’t, but I feel responsible for you, Alex.” She reached over and squeezed his arm affectionately, offering her sweetest smile. “You're my guy.”

 

* * *

 

When Arizona stepped off the elevator, she heard a familiar laugh filtering through the lobby.  Her heart filled with joy knowing that she wouldn’t have to live without that glorious sound, after all. Scanning the area, she spotted her little girl talking animatedly with her mama near the exit doors, ready for soccer practice with her hair up in pigtails. 

The matching smile on Callie’s face momentarily stopped Arizona in her tracks _ ― _ she’d forgotten how breathtaking it was. 

Shutting her eyes, she shook her head to rid herself of the thought, writing it off as an old habit. 

Callie looked up as the blonde approached them, and Arizona watched her smile widen. Sofia broke through the reverie when she saw who’d stolen her mama’s attention. 

“Hi, Mommy!”

“Hi, big girl,” Arizona gushed. “You ready for practice?” 

“Yeah! Are you coming with us?” 

“No, it’s Mama’s turn to watch you play.” She ran her fingers over her daughter’s soft hair. “But I’ll be there on Saturday! We both will,” she added, her eyes flicking up to meet Callie’s. “Right, Mama?”

“Of course!” Callie promised. And there was that smile again.  

Arizona held out the bag with Sofia’s cleats. “Why don’t you go sit and put these on while I talk to Mama for a minute?”

“Okay!” Sofia grabbed the shoes and headed toward a group of empty chairs by one of the large windows.  

Callie raised an eyebrow. “What’s up?”

“Watch out for Jarrod. He’s a ball hog and kind of mean. He upset her during the last practice—said she wasn’t good at passing. But just because she doesn’t want to pass to him doesn’t mean she’s not good at it. I was so mad, but you can’t just yell at a six-year-old.”

“But you  _ can _ yell at the parents,” Callie reminded her. “Or are you waiting for me to do that?” 

“No, I’m subtly trying to warn you not to!”

Callie laughed. “I promise to be on my best behavior.” Her eyes quickly perused Arizona’s outfit, running over her slight frame. “You look nice. Hot date?”

Arizona smirked. “I’m going out with Richard.”

“Ah, the infamous trivia night.”  

“You aren’t going to use it against me again, are you?” Arizona automatically recalled the horrible courtroom experience.

“Arizona...” Callie exhaled, lowering her head in shame. “I’m sorry. That was-”

“I know, I know,” Arizona interrupted, immediately feeling sorry for bringing it up. “You’ve already apologized. We’ve moved on. We’re moving on.”

“Don’t,” Callie stopped her from minimizing her pain. “I get it. I was wrong. I went about everything wrong. You don’t need to be sorry for still feeling angry. It’s okay to be mad.”

“I’m not mad, Callie. Not anymore. But...” she trailed off, unable to articulate her hurt. 

And, even though they were often strangers to one another, Callie recognized the sadness in those blue eyes. Suddenly, she realized that what she’d done hadn’t just pissed Arizona off—it had hurt her. It had been an act of betrayal, and that was a hurt that took time to heal—a hurt she knew all too well. 

“Mommy!” Sofia called from where she was sitting, effectively ending her mothers’ poignant conversation. “I can’t get them tight enough.” 

“I’ve got it,” Callie offered. She reached out and touched Arizona’s arm in comfort, much like Arizona had done with Alex. “You go have fun with Webber.”

Arizona answered Callie with a soft nod, and as she watched her ex walk towards their daughter, she supplied, “Double knot them for her so they don’t come untied while she’s running.”

 

* * *

 

Richard Webber was a smart man. He was an intuitive man. Not much could get by him. 

So, ever since they’d arrived at the bar, he had noticed that Arizona was unusually quiet. She seemed pensive, and he wanted to know why. 

Popping a jalapeno popper in his mouth, he looked towards his friend to see her hunched over the bar, cheek in hand. Something was plaguing her thoughts, and he knew it wasn’t the current  _ riveting  _ trivia question,  _ How many pairs of underwear do men buy in a year? _

“Robbins?” 

Richard’s authoritative tone snapped Arizona out of her haze, and she instinctively straightened up on her stool. “Sir?” 

“‘Sir’?  _ Really _ ?” 

“I’m sorry, Richard. You just sounded like my dad for a second, and I reverted to my fourteen-year-old self, sitting down at the dinner table.”

“Well, you’re sure acting like a sulky teenager tonight. No one’s going to want to take you home if you keep putting out this vibe.”

“Honestly, I don’t want to go home with anyone tonight but you,” she grumbled back, picking up her glass of wine and taking a sip.

Richard’s eyebrows rose as he waited for her to realize the implication.

“Oh!” she choked. “I didn’t mean…I just meant...”

“I know what you meant,” he assured her. “I’m a happily married man, and you’re... how did you put it? ‘Lesbianic.’” He took a sip of his water. “You are really off your game tonight, though.”

“What? We’re in second place!” 

“Not the trivia. I just mean you don’t seem interested in any of these lovely ladies. And,” he looked around, “some of them sure seem interested in you.”

Glancing around at the bar’s female patrons, it occurred to Arizona that none of their smiles compared to the bright one she received earlier. “Callie took Sofia to soccer practice tonight. I saw them right before we left, and now I’m all…preoccupied.”

“Oh.” Richard watched her carefully. “Is everything okay? I thought you two had gotten back into a regular routine? It’s been a little while since-” 

“It’s not that. We’re…fine. I, uh…” She paused. “Can I tell you something?”

Webber nodded. “Of course.”

“About a month ago, I told her to go to New York. I even bought her and Sofia plane tickets.”

“Arizona,” he admonished.“I saw the emotional toll the custody case took on you. Why, after all that, would you change your mind and let her take Sofia across the country?”

Arizona bit her lip as she thought about how to best answer. Finally, she settled on the truth. “She was sad. I wanted her to be happy.” 

“And you think she can’t be happy here?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know what makes her happy anymore.” 

“She’s a grown woman. I think she’s capable of figuring that out on her own.” 

“I know, I know,” Arizona conceded. “And I get that she’s not mine to worry about, but I can’t help it, sometimes. We’re still connected. We have a child together.” 

Richard eyed her knowingly. “It’s okay to care. When Adele and I were separated, I worried about her all the time. And Ellis? She was long gone―moved across the country― and I _still_ thought about her. Hell, twenty-five years went by, and Meredith Grey showed up in my hospital. Suddenly, I was worrying about her, too. Still do. All because of my relationship with Ellis.” 

He paused for a moment, lost in a memory. “For better or for worse, there are some people in this world who just mean more to us than others. But all any of us can do is take care of ourselves the best way we know how and hope the people we love are doing the same.”

Arizona attempted to brush-off his implication. “‘Love’?” she scoffed. 

Despite the blonde’s dismissal, Richard knew that—on some level—Arizona still loved her ex-wife.

“Listen to me,” he insisted, reaching over and gently patting her arm. “I think you need to start evaluating what it is that you want.”  

 

* * *

 

The first game of the season—and of Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres’ soccer career—fell on one of Seattle’s rare but beautiful sunny Saturday mornings. 

Arizona was all smiles as she carried her camp chair and mini-cooler full of orange slices toward the field where the Bumblebees were playing. She immediately located her daughter among the kids running around in their little black and yellow uniforms, her heart leaping at the adorable sight. She loved being a mom. 

But it wasn’t long before her gaze found Callie, seated along the sideline in a chair similar to her own. There was an empty space beside the brunette, and her steps faltered for a moment as she wondered if she should sit next to her or move further down and sit by herself. Luckily, Callie saved her from making a decision when she sensed her presence and turned to greet her. 

“Hey.” Callie smiled and gestured to the space beside her. “I saved you a spot.”

Arizona offered a tentative smile. “Thank you.” 

They remained silent while Arizona set up her chair, and the absence of their normal polite conversation made Callie feel a little uneasy. It never used to be that way, even after they divorced, so she tried to reassure herself that it was part of the healing process and not an indication of their new normal. 

The sound of a whistle broke Callie out of her internal musings, and she looked up to see Sofia running toward them. God, she was cute. She’d come so far since the start of her life. No one would have ever guessed that she was born “one pound, one ounce of  _ strong _ ”—as Arizona used to affectionately say. 

Sofia was as rambunctious and curious as any other six-year-old, and the smartest—if you asked her mothers. And there she was: part of her first team. Callie’s heart soared with pride, but the feeling was short-lived when it suddenly dawned on her that she had been so close to missing that, or so close to robbing Arizona of the experience, had she left. She felt her eyes sting with regret.

After setting herself and her belongings down, Arizona looked over and saw tears in Callie’s eyes. She was about to ask what was wrong when Sofia came grinding to a halt in front of her. 

“Good morning, Mommy!” 

“Good morning, sweet girl.” Arizona beamed as she pulled her daughter close, planting a big wet kiss on each of her dimpled cheeks. “Are you ready for your game?” 

“Uh huh,” Sofia nodded excitedly. 

Arizona smiled, but her eyes flitted back to Callie, just in time to see the woman rapidly blink away her unshed tears. 

“Want some water, baby?” Callie asked, holding out Sofia’s  _ Sofia the First _ water bottle. Though she was getting a bit old for the show, the little girl loved that there was a princess named after her. 

“No, Mama! The game is getting ready to start! That’s for halftime.”

“Oh,” Callie lifted her eyebrow and fixed Arizona with a conspiring look. “I guess it’s for halftime.”

“I thought the orange slices were for halftime?” Arizona’s lips rose into a playful smile. “Should we eat them, instead”

“They’re  _ both  _ for halftime!” Sofia insisted. “Coach says we gotta get re… re…hyderateded.”

The coaches called for the kids to gather in the middle of the field, and, after hugs and high fives, Sofia waved goodbye to her moms and ran over to stand with her team. Callie pulled out her phone from her bag as the two teams began to line up side by side.

One by one, each child showed their cleats and tapped on their shinguards as the young referee walked by for the equipment check.  

“Aww, did you see that?” Arizona reached over and grabbed Callie’s arm. “That was adorable.”

Callie looked down from the camera app on her phone to Arizona’s soft hand on her forearm, and then up to meet excited blue eyes. “So adorable,” she agreed. She lifted her phone. “I got a few pictures. I’ll text them to you, if you want.”  

“Of course I want.” Arizona started digging through her pockets looking for her phone. “Oh my god, Callie!”

“What?”

“Should I have brought the video camera?  It’s her first game! We should record it, shouldn’t we?” Arizona panicked. “I didn’t even think of it! Are we bad moms?”

“We’re great moms!” Callie assured her. She pointed to a man on the other side of the field that had a camera on a tripod. “You see that guy over there? That’s Simone’s dad. He’s recording the game and making copies for any parent who wants one. I already told him to make us a copy.” 

“Oh, good.” Arizona’s dimples made an appearance as she recovered from her momentary panic. “Wait…” She paused. “Did you tell him one or two?”

“One or two what?”

“Copies.”

Callie’s smile faded. “Oh. I’ll tell him we need two.” 

An uncomfortable silence settled over them after the stark reminder that they were two separate families. 

The silence prevailed through most of the first half, but it never became stifling. They shared smiles and glances as they watched the little ones chase the soccer ball up and down the field. 

But, by the time the second half began, Arizona wanted to ease out of their awkwardness, so she took a deep breath and worked up the courage to begin a conversation. 

“Hey,” she began. “So I meant to tell you, Andrew’s been seeing Julia for his orbital fracture.”

With her eyes still on the game, Callie absentmindedly wondered, “Julia? Julia who?”

“Julia, Mark’s Julia,” Arizona clarified, watching as Callie’s head whipped around to face her.

“ _ Oh _ ,” Callie understood. “Julia.”

Arizona nodded. “Apparently, she’s married now. And very pregnant,” she added. 

“ _ Really _ ?”

Arizona nodded. Oh, how things had changed.

“That’s crazy.” Callie shook her head in wonder. “I feel like it was just yesterday she wanted to have a baby with Mark. Remember how much he freaked out?”

Again, Arizona nodded. She remembered everything.

Turning back to the game, Arizona’s lips curled up into a sad smile as she realized how much their daughter’s father was missing out on. “If Mark were here, he would love this.”

Callie’s eyes followed Arizona’s gaze, proudly watching Sofia slip on the grass and get right back up. “Yeah,” she agreed. “He really would.”

 

* * *

 

The ice broken, Callie and Arizona spent most of the second half talking: first reminiscing about Mark, and then transitioning into hospital gossip. Callie couldn’t believe Arizona didn’t know more about the Alex/Jo/Andrew situation, given her relationship with the the two men. But Arizona was adamant that she was just as much in the dark as everyone else. 

Then, after swearing her to secrecy, Callie told Arizona about Meredith and Nathan. Arizona was shocked; she thought Meredith hated Nathan. But after hearing about Maggie’s feelings, she couldn’t help but sympathize with the woman.

“Poor Maggie.”

“I know,” Callie sighed. “But Meredith deserves at little…you know… _ sex _ ,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” Arizona agreed. “Derek’s been gone for years.”

For once, they both enjoyed not being part of the hospital rumor mill.

 

* * *

 

Later in the second half, Arizona motioned towards the field, loudly protesting, “Do you see this?”

Callie turned to face her. “See what?” She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be looking at.

“Jarrod the freakin’ ball-hog, that’s who!” Arizona clarified. “Look at him! He won’t pass the ball. Sof is wide open!”

Callie chuckled. “He’s a boy, Arizona. They do that.”

“Well, it’s unacceptable!” Arizona insisted, in full-on mama-bear mode. “Soccer’s supposed to be a team sport.  _ Team _ .”

Callie’s smile slowly widened as she watched her ex-wife get herself worked up.

“I mean, look!” she continued. “The coach isn’t even doing anything!”

“Arizona, they’re six,” Callie countered. “They don’t even know the rules yet. It’s their first game.”

“But she’s open!” Arizona started to get up from her chair, determined to go talk to the coach so that the other team-members might actually get some playing time. 

“Wait!” Callie put up her hand, fixing Arizona with a stern look. “You told me not to make a fuss over this kid the other day, so you don’t get to, either.”

“Bu-” Arizona began to protest.

“Nuh-uh,” Callie decided, placing a strong hand on her ex-wife’s soft shoulder.  _ It’s a peewee soccer game for crying out loud _ , she thought.  _ Not the World Cup _ .

Arizona huffed, though she found the warm hand on her shoulder to be inexplicably calming. Taking a deep breath, she maintained, “I still don’t like him.”

Callie’s lips curled up into an amused smile, and she lightly traced Arizona’s shoulder with her thumb. “I know.”

BREAK

Callie and Arizona watched the game more intently in its final few minutes. The Bumblebees were two points ahead and positively buzzing with energy. 

They watched as Atticus kicked the ball towards Simone, who—after nearly tripping—kicked it to a wide-open Sofia posted in front of the goal.

Caught up in the moment, Callie and Arizona stood in anticipation. 

“Kick it, Sof!” Callie called out, instinctively reaching for Arizona’s hand.

And from a distance, they watched as Sofia stuck out her tongue in concentration, swinging her leg back and kicking the ball right past the goalie.

“GOOOAL!” The crowd cheered, and Callie and Arizona clung to each other, jumping up and down and screaming like the proudest—and loudest—parents on the planet. 

“That’s our girl!” Arizona practically sang, overcome with joy.

Callie was consumed with happiness; the Bumblebees had won, and their daughter had scored the winning goal.

She looked over at Arizona, brown eyes briefly connecting with exuberant blues, and Bailey’s question from months ago echoed in her mind:  _ Twenty years from now, who do you want screaming and cheering beside you _ ?   _ Who do you want screaming and cheering beside you?  _ **_Who do you want?_ **

Callie felt her heart take off in her chest. In that moment, she knew the answer to that question. Deep down, she’d always known. 

The only person she ever wanted cheering beside her was Arizona. 


	4. Episode 4: Everywhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode 4 Summary: Arizona is everywhere. Callie is frustrated and awkward.

_ “‘Cause you're everywhere to me _

_ And when I close my eyes it's you I see…” _

 

* * *

 

Everywhere she turned, there Arizona was. 

Callie was sure she was losing her mind. Ever since Sofia’s soccer game —and her realization— on Saturday, Arizona had been everywhere: at the coffee cart, in the cafeteria, in the ER, at the OR board, and even in the OR gallery. She was unavoidable. And it was making Callie crazy.

It wasn’t like Callie didn’t  _ want  _ to see Arizona. She did. She just didn’t want to see her so much  _ right then.  _

Because, every time they crossed paths, Callie wanted to grab the blonde by the shoulders and look deeply into those bright blue eyes and apologize for how wrong she had been — for how she foolishly mishandled the last three years. 

But she knew that it was too soon. The pain that she had caused during the trial was still too fresh, and there was no way Arizona would be open to anything more than their current co-parenting arrangement. Not yet, anyway. 

And, if Callie was being honest with herself, she wasn’t ready for more just yet, either. She wanted to savor the future possibilities for a while without rushing into anything. She wanted to be friends— _ real _ friends—and, if possible, build something stronger than what they’d had before. 

Still, recognizing that it was too soon to say anything to her ex-wife directly didn’t eliminate the wanting. Callie wanted Arizona  _ badly _ . She yearned for the parts of her she hadn’t allowed herself to even think about after their divorce: her velvet skin, her hugs, her quiet care, her humor, her wildflower scent, her strength, her bravery, her love… 

The list was never ending, and it weighed heavily on her mind, so she wanted to talk out her feelings with the people she trusted. 

Except every time she opened her mouth, there Arizona was, within earshot. 

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Arizona was facing her own dilemma. She had never been able to deny the love she’d felt for Callie. It had always been present and apparent, and that had been much of the reason why she had told her ex-wife to go to New York.

And with time, Arizona had learned to bury those feelings. She was an expert at compartmentalizing, and she did it often. 

But then she had felt something at Sofia’s soccer game. For the first time in years, she and Callie had really  _ connected _ . She had missed that feeling, and she wanted to feel it again and again and again. 

For that reason, she’d been trying to be in her ex-wife’s presence all week, but without success so far; every time she got close to Callie, there were either other doctors around or the brunette would have to leave to go deal with business. 

Arizona knew it wasn’t Callie’s fault, but still, it was making her crazy. All she wanted was to build a good relationship with her ex-wife again, but life kept interfering.

 

* * *

 

Seeing the Chief in the distance, Callie ran toward her, exclaiming, “Bailey!” 

Bailey looked up from her iPad. “Torres, what is it?” As usual, she wasn’t in the mood for any nonsense. “I thought you were meeting with the engineer from Biomed this morning?”

“Oh, I am. He called earlier and said he’s running late. He should be here soon. I just...” Callie paused, working up the courage to address the issue. She looked around, making sure the area was clear of any eavesdroppers before she whispered, “I need to ask you something.”

Bailey waited.

“Right,” Callie continued, ignoring her friend’s judgmental stare. “So...Have you ever liked someone—someone who’s just...out-of-this-world  _ amazing— _ and you can’t stop thinking about them? But you also can’t tell them, even though they’re all you can think about,  _ constantly _ …” 

She rambled on. “Because you don’t know whether it’s too late, or if you messed things up, or if, maybe-”

“Callie,” Bailey interrupted gently, sensing her friend’s rising panic and wanting to stop it. Quietly, she inquired, “Who are we talking about, here?”

Callie gulped. She was grateful that Bailey was actually willing to offer some emotional support, but she was still a little hesitant to admit her re-emerging feelings. “I’m talking about-”

Once again, her explanation was cut short by the object of her desire. Above Bailey’s head, Callie saw that Arizona was ten yards away and heading in their direction. 

When they locked eyes, the blonde offered a smile and small wave. 

Callie let out a groan, feeling the urge to bang her head against the counter of the nurse’s station.  _ Damn it _ . Not only had Arizona been seconds from hearing her own name, but she also wore the most magnetic smile on the planet, which wasn’t freaking helping to stifle her Big Feelings.

“ _ Torres _ ?” Bailey worried, suddenly concerned for her friend’s well-being. “What’s wrong?”

Callie huffed. “Nothing,” she grumbled, offering her friend an apologetic look. “I’ve gotta go.” 

She hurried away before Arizona could get any closer, paranoid that she might say or do something weird. With her revelation and new rush of feelings so fresh, it was not the time to unravel. 

“But you didn’t finish telling me who you were talking about!” Bailey called after her. She didn’t like getting into other people’s business, but she was known to make exceptions in case of emergency, and whatever Callie was about to say seemed urgent. 

“Hey,” Arizona chirped, coming up behind her friend. “Where’s Callie going?”

Bailey shrugged. “She just ran off!” She turned to the blonde. 

Arizona’s narrowed eyes remained fixed to the spot down the hall where she’d last seen Callie. “Did she say anything to you? About me?”

“No. Why?” Bailey wondered. Callie hadn’t said anything. Unless she’d been talking about…

“I think she’s mad at me or something,” Arizona lamented. “I thought it was just a coincidence, but now I’m not sure. Every time she sees me, she runs in the opposite direction!”

Bailey’s eyebrows flew up. 

“Did she say anything?” Arizona repeated.

“Uh…” Bailey paused. “I don’t think she’s mad at you.” If Callie indeed had been referring to Arizona, then she definitely wasn’t mad. That Bailey knew.

Arizona huffed then shook her head, freeing the worry from her mind and changing the subject. “Hey, do you have any fun surgeries for me to help with?” 

Bailey made a face. “Trust me, if there were any fun surgeries to do, I’d be doing them myself.”

It was a slow day.

 

* * *

 

After leaving Bailey, Callie wandered through the hospital corridors, her mind occupied with only one thing. 

She was going to burst if she didn’t talk to someone soon.

But before she could find a confidant, the front desk called and informed her that the engineer had finally arrived and was waiting in the hall outside of her lab.

“Michael Singh?” Callie asked as she hurried up to the man. “I’m here, I’m here. I’m sorry you had to wait.” She extended her hand in greeting. 

“You can call me Mike.” He shook her hand with enthusiasm. “And I’m the one who should apologize for being late. I had a tough time getting here.”

“It looks like you made it one piece, though. That’s all that matters. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.”

“Thank you,” he smiled. “It really is an honor to meet you in person, Dr. Torres.”

She smiled back. “You can call me Callie.”

 

* * *

 

Arizona, who appeared to be patientless for the day, decided to continue her quest to find Callie. She roamed the hospital halls, chatting with the coworkers she passed until, finally, she caught sight of her ex entering her lab with a tall, good-looking man with wavy black hair. They were both all smiles.

She had hoped to find a moment alone with the elusive brunette, but to her dismay, it didn’t seem like that was going to happen.

Arizona couldn’t place the man with Callie; she knew he wasn’t a surgeon at Grey-Sloan, but he didn’t look like a patient, either. 

Her curiosity got the better of her, and she casually walked past the closed door, stopping to peer through the small window at just the right angle to avoid being detected. She watched Callie smile as she nodded at whatever the stranger was saying. 

_ Huh,  _ she thought.  _ They seem friendly _ . 

Whatever the man had said must have been funny, because suddenly Callie threw back her head and laughed. 

Arizona rolled her eyes. It couldn’t have been  _ that _ funny. 

_ Is Callie flirting?  _ she wondered.  _ No. Her arms are crossed. Definitely not interested.  _

_ He’s kind of in her personal space, though, _ she noted. _ Come on Callie.  _ She tapped her foot in agitation.  _ Tell him to back off.  _

Arizona let another minute go by, watching as the mystery man moved closer to Callie. Then, she decided she’d seen enough. She prepared to walk in and interrupt their interaction in case Callie needed a helping hand.

But before she could make her move, a heated discussion down the hall between Alex and Jo caught her attention. She wasn’t close enough to hear what either doctor was saying but, judging by their erratic hand gestures, whatever they were talking about wasn’t good. She moved away from the door and crept away from the arguing pair so as not to disrupt them.

 

* * *

 

Callie listened politely as Mike told her about the crazy Uber driver who’d gotten lost while driving him from his hotel to the hospital.

“He had no idea where he was going,” Mike explained. “I had to use the GPS on my phone to get us here.”

Callie smiled, admitting, “I’ve never used an Uber before.”

“I usually have pretty good luck with them,” Mike defended. “But this guy…I don’t know. He was weird. He played ‘You’re Beautiful’ by James Blunt on repeat.”

Callie chuckled. In James’ defense, it was a decent song, but...on repeat? A person could only listen to his haunting voice for so long...

“I swear I heard it  _ at least _ ten times on the way here. So, if I start singing, I promise it’s not because I’m trying to flirt. It’s just stuck in my head.” He smiled. 

Callie looked him over, and he was certainly attractive. Dark skinned, good build, great smile. 

If her mind wasn’t preoccupied with thoughts of her ex-wife, she might not even have minded some innocent flirting. But she definitely wasn’t interested. Not when all she could think about was Arizona.

Callie showed him to the area of the lab where he would be working and pointed him to the boxes of equipment that had been delivered prior to his arrival. 

“Great,” he affirmed. “This is going to take me awhile to get set up, so if you have something else to do right now, go ahead. You don’t have to keep me company.”

“Oh, I don’t mind. I’m really not busy today.” 

Callie’s pager chose that moment to start buzzing in her pocket. She smiled apologetically. “Famous last words. I’ve gotta get down to the ER.”

 

* * *

 

“We need to get a restraining order!” Alex insisted, attempting to keep his voice low despite his fury. “He’s in Tacoma,” he said of her abusive ex-husband. “That’s close! And I don’t want him getting near you ever again.”

“We can’t do anything, Alex!” Jo argued. “If I get back into contact with him, he’ll know where I am. You don’t get it. I ran away, and I’m safe now. Can’t you and I just stay together and not get marr-”

“No!” Alex fought. “You can’t just stay married to this creep! What if something happens to you someday? Then he’ll have the right to make any decision on your behalf, and I’ll be  _ nothing _ . Do you want that?”

“Of course I don’t want that,” Jo surrendered. “I just want to forget about him. So  _ don’t  _ contact him.”

“Jo-”

“Promise me,” she demanded. “Promise me you won’t do anything.”

Before Alex could make any promises, his pager blared. “I’ve got to go,” he grumbled, walking away without another word.

“Alex!”

Down the hall and just out of earshot, Arizona’s own device started beeping, and she rushed off to the ER.

 

* * *

 

“Hi, Trevor,” Callie smiled at the ten-year-old boy who was dazed out on painkillers. “I’m Dr. Torres, and I’m going to help fix your broken clavicle, okay?”

Trevor nodded as his parents watched him in worry.

Coming up behind her, Alex greeted the kid. “Trevor! Dude, what happened?”

Callie looked up, briefly distracted. “You know him?” she whispered.

Alex nodded. “He has CF. Robbins and I have been treating him forever.”

Callie sighed.  _ Poor kid _ . “I’m guessing you want to assist to keep an eye on him, then?”

“You bet,” Alex grunted.

As they secured the rails of the gurney and began to wheel the boy towards the elevator, Callie smiled. “That’s perfect,” she began. “Because I’ve actually been wanting to talk to you about Ariz-”

“Hey!” Arizona bounced up to the gurney. “What’s going on?”

Callie looked up, equal parts pleased and exasperated. “Nothing’s going on!” she blurted guiltily.  _ She’s everywhere.  _

“Trevor Resnick broke his clavicle,” Alex explained. “Badly. We’re going into surgery now.”

“Oh, I can help with that, Karev,” his superior decided. After what she’d just witnessed upstairs, Arizona didn’t think Alex’s head was in the right place for surgery. “Can you check on all our post-ops? Callie and I can handle this.”

Alex nodded, immediately backing off. He had other things to worry about, anyway.

Callie had to swallow the groan in the back of her throat. Just her luck. She was going to have to be in close proximity to Arizona for at least an hour without going crazy, admitting her feelings, or giving her  _ that look _ , with love in her eyes. It wasn’t going to be easy.

As they stepped into the elevator, Arizona smiled. “This is the first time I’ve had you alone all week.”

“Yeah, uh…long time no see.” Callie rolled her eyes at her own awkwardness. 

She tried again. “Why are you shoving Alex off a Peds case? No unborn babies to save?”

“Hey! I’m still the Peds department head!” Arizona defended, affectionately nudging Callie’s arm with her elbow. “But yeah,” she admitted with a sigh. “Slow day in Maternal Fetal. What about you? Is Ortho busy?”

Callie smirked. “I’m doing a routine clavicle-break surgery that any fourth-year resident could do, so what do you think?”

“Double-board certified and assisting.” Arizona pointed to herself and shrugged. “So we’re definitely in the same boat. A really  _ slooow  _ boat,” she drug out with a glint in her eye. Her dimples popped as she gave Callie her most adorable smile.

Callie reached over and touched the left wall to steady herself as the elevator began to move, dizzied by the blonde’s smile.

Arizona looked over, concerned. “Are you okay?” Callie looked like she was ready to fall over.

“I....skipped lunch,” Callie lied, forcing herself to be cool.

“Oh.” Arizona paused, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a granola bar and banana. “Eat these. You need to have your energy up for this kid. I like him.”

Making a face, Callie hesitated momentarily. She wasn’t actually hungry, but she knew that now she  _ had  _ to eat something. Dang. She took the snacks from her ex-wife’s hands, nodding, “Thanks.”

Arizona smiled then changed the subject. “Hey, so, I, uh…I saw you talking to Bailey this morning, but then you ran off. I assumed you had something important to get to, but you said it’s slow for you.”

Callie looked over and met blue eyes. “Oh, um, I had to meet with someone. Why?”

“I don’t know. I just was wondering if…” Arizona trailed off.

Callie felt her heart speed up. “If what?”

As they reached their floor, Arizona shrugged. “If you ran away from me because I did something wrong.”

“ _ What _ ?” How could Arizona think that? That was so, so far from the truth that it was almost humorous.

“I don’t know.” Embarrassed, Arizona waved off the thought. “I worried that you might be feeling...mad, for a second.”

“Trust me,” Callie vowed with a little humor in her voice. “I’m definitely not feeling that.”

 

* * *

 

Arizona stood across the OR table from the orthopedic surgeon, watching her strong but gentle hands meticulously operate on Trevor.

“So.” She cleared her throat, glancing at the anesthesiologist and the scrub nurses around them. Attempting to sound casual, she continued, “Who was that guy in your lab earlier? Is that who you had to meet?”

Callie looked up. “What? You mean Mike?”

Arizona shrugged.

“He’s an engineer,” Callie explained. “He’s helping me with the design specifics for the new prosthetic leg prototype.”

“Oh.” Arizona nodded. “Cool. Is he...nice? ” She felt compelled to find out the depth of Callie’s connection to the man. Not that she was jealous, she was just…curious. “Have you worked with him before?

“He’s great,” Callie supplied. “We’ve been corresponding for a few weeks. I read an article a few months ago about this morphing material that Biomed created. It discussed the potential uses, one of which was smart bandages, so I thought, why couldn’t something like that be used as the lining inside the prosthetic? I emailed the team that was working on it, and about a month ago, they got back to me and are giving me Mike exclusively for the next couple weeks to see if the morphing material will work with the prostheses.”

“They’ll be so much cheaper, and they might even be easier to use, too,” she continued, excited by the prospect. “The material’s lighter and, if we do it correctly, it will react to muscle movement in the residual limb. It’s so cool. It’s going to take this project to the next level.”

Arizona smiled, realizing —maybe for the first time—how much this project actually meant to Callie. In truth, the project hadn’t been something that she herself needed to heal post-amputation, but it seemed that it’d been something Callie had needed. Arizona realized that her ex-wife hadn’t been trying to fix her after all; she had been healing herself. 

“It sounds great,” Arizona choked out as she attempted to swallow the lump in her throat. “You’re going to change so many lives.”

“I hope so.”

 

* * *

 

They chatted about Callie’s project for a while until, much to Arizona’s chagrin, the anesthesiologist had to interrupt to brag about his son who was headed off to Stanford. Arizona didn’t care what his stupid-but-smart-enough-to-get-into-Stanford son was doing. She just wanted to talk to Callie, and his interruption had effectively ended their moment and left them working in silence.

The quiet allowed her to really watch Callie as she worked. 

That had been something she’d always loved to do. Callie was the perfect combination of confident, quick, and meticulous. She was a genius. 

The way her hands moved with gentleness and grace was unlike any other surgeon’s. It was beautiful. 

Arizona glanced up, allowing her gaze to roam Callie’s face. 

God.  _ She _ was beautiful. 

“ _ You’re beautiful _ ,” Callie began to sing to herself as she closed up. “ _ You’re beautiful, it’s true. There must be an angel… _ ”

“Callie?” 

Callie looked up to see all eyes trained on her, and  she nearly choked on her own breath. “Oh. Sorry! I wasn’t referring to you!”

Arizona raised her eyebrows.

“I mean,” Callie backtracked, all the while wishing there was a hole in the ground she could jump into. “I didn’t...You’re not...I mean...You are!” She paused. “Beautiful, I mean. And-”

Slowly, Arizona’s lips curled up into a smile. A nervous, sputtering Callie had always been a sight she’d enjoyed.

“I don’t want you to think I don’t think that, because I do,” Callie continued, digging her own grave. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bokhee shaking her head, and she could feel the silent judgement. She was screwed.

“I do,” she swore. “But I wasn’t, you know...singing to you. I was just...it’s just stuck in my head.”

Arizona dimpled, then did her best to save Callie from herself. “I know you weren’t singing to me, Calliope. No one thought that.”

Everyone smirked and shared glances, but Callie and Arizona didn’t notice.

Callie exhaled a breath of relief, recovering. “Good.”

“You can keep singing, though,” Arizona added. “I liked it.”

 

* * *

 

“Karev,” Arizona bounded toward her protégé after her surgery with Callie. “How’s it going?”

Looking up from the cell phone that sat on his lap, Alex nodded towards his mentor. “How’d Trevor do?”

“He did great,” Arizona informed him. “His vitals kept steady the whole time, free of complications.” 

“Good.” Alex picked up his phone and stood up from the attendings’ couch, anxious for a distraction from his personal life. “I’ve gotta go.”

“Alex.” Arizona’s soft but dictatorial voice stopped him from taking another step. “I saw you and Jo talking earlier.”

Alex whipped his head around to face her.

“I’m worried about you,” she professed, her blue eyes attempting to read his face.

“Well, don’t be,” he growled. “It’s not your problem.”

“Alex…” 

“Why are you always checking up on me, anyway?” he laid into her, frustrated and angry and upset and scared and needing to take his feelings out on anyone willing to listen. “You’re freakin’ everywhere.”

“Because I love you!” Arizona exclaimed. Alex’s behavior worried her. He was acting like the stubborn, arrogant resident he’d once been instead of the strong, loving man he had become. What on earth had happened with Jo?

“Alex,” she sighed, trying again to soften the stone face that stared at her. “I’m here for you. And maybe you don’t want that right now, but I want to make sure you know. If you ever need anything, I’m here.”

Knowing that Arizona was only trying to help, Alex didn’t fight her any longer. He didn’t have the energy for it.

“Okay!” he surrendered, giving in. “Whatever!”

Arizona waited. 

“And I’ll tell you if I need anything,” he swore, meeting disbelieving eyes. “ _ I promise _ . But, right now, I really do have to go.”

 

* * *

 

Later that night, Callie hit the elevator button for the lobby, ready for a quiet night at home. She spotted Meredith making her way towards her from down the hall. 

“Hey.” Meredith came up beside her. “How’s your week going?”

“Hey,” Callie breathed, glad to be asked. “Do you really want to know? Because I, uh, I’ve been wanting to talk about something.”

Meredith raised her eyebrows. “About what?”

Callie bit her lip. “Remember when we were talking about second chances?” 

Meredith nodded.

“Well…” Callie began as they stepped into the empty elevator.  “I’ve been having some feelings…” 

Thankful for the privacy, she was about to elaborate, when suddenly, an arm shot out to stop the elevator doors from closing. 

Seconds later, Callie and Meredith were met with Arizona’s face.

The blonde hesitated for a moment, Callie’s countenance keeping her from moving forward. Then, she offered a tentative smile and stepped inside. “Hey,” she breathed.

“Hey,” Meredith waved. 

Her eyes unblinking, Callie whispered, “Hey.” 

The air in the elevator felt as thick as water, and Arizona couldn’t help but resent Meredith. All she wanted was to talk and laugh with Callie, just the two of them. Someplace other than the OR, where half a dozen other people were privy to their conversation. 

Trying to make the best of the situation, she casually inquired, “What were you talking about? Anything interesting?”

“We were talking about-” Meredith began.

“No!” Callie interrupted, a little harsher than she meant to. “I mean…” She cleared her throat, squeaking, “We weren’t talking about anything interesting. Just, um, stuff.”

She looked up, meeting Meredith’s  _ what the hell?  _ expression. Her friend’s eyes were fixed on her face, doing some sort of silent calculation, and the intensity of the look made Callie nervous.

But the nerves were nothing compared to the anxiety she felt standing beside the most dazzling woman in the world.

Forcing herself to be cool, she turned back to Arizona. “What are you doing after the soccer game on Saturday?”

“Working,” Arizona sighed. “Pretty much all weekend.” 

Callie nodded.

Realizing she might have missed a silent implication, Arizona backtracked. “Why? Did you want to do something?” she wondered.  _ Is that what Callie’s asking? _

“No, no, I was just wondering,” Callie hurried to answer. 

Arizona nodded.

“Unless,” Callie continued, panicked, “ _ You _ wanted to do something?” Was that what Arizona had meant?

“No,” Arizona shook her head. God, Callie made her nervous. “I was just curious.”

“Right.” Callie’s head bobbed up and down. “Me, too.”

Silently, Meredith watched them, her right eyebrow practically fixed to her hairline. 

The women spent the last few moments of the ride in silence until, finally, the elevator doors opened in the lobby, putting an end to their awkwardness.

“Well, um,” Arizona began. “I better get home to Sofia, but it was nice talking to you.” She offered both Callie and Meredith an awkward smile, then rushed off before she could embarrass herself.

Callie turned to Meredith, but refused to meet her friend’s eyes. “I should go, too. Talk soon!” She hurried toward the parking lot, making sure to steer clear of Arizona.

Meredith shook her head as she watched the two women head in opposite directions. 

Though they appeared to be running from each other, they would follow each other anywhere.


	5. Episode 5: I Keep It Hid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode 5 Summary: Secrets are kept...and revealed.

 

_ “I still love you like I did _

_ You know, nothing's really changed here _

_ But being the way I am _

_ I keep it hid.” _

 

* * *

 

Callie had kept a wide berth of Meredith for more than a week—not because she was ashamed of her reawakened feelings for Arizona, but because she was ashamed for ever convincing herself otherwise. She had gone on and on about Penny and asked her friends to accept the relationship; and, now, admitting to herself and to Meredith that none of that had been real―that it had all been an attempt to find purpose and move on from the person she now knew she was meant to be with―was, frankly, embarrassing. 

And, as much as she had wanted to talk about her feelings with Meredith the week before, she suddenly was kind of dreading it. The look her friend had given her in the elevator had made her feel uneasy, and confronting that uneasiness was a task she had put off for as long as she could. 

One pleasant consequence of avoiding Meredith had been increased contact with Arizona. After she had been able to compartmentalize her feelings, she had spent a lot of time with her ex: four lunches, two coffees, and an after-soccer ice cream all in the past week and a half―not that Callie had been counting. 

Dodging Meredith, however, finally came to an end on a day they both had later shifts, and her friend managed to rope her into coffee and carpool.

Sitting at the table in the former ‘frat house’ kitchen, Callie sipped on her hot cup of caffeine and waited for Meredith to break the silence.

Meredith stood at the island counter, stirring some creamer into her cup and watching the nervous brunette run her fingers along the edge of the table. It was obvious that Callie had something on her mind, and she strongly suspected the subject.

“Callie?”

Callie looked up from her coffee and met Meredith’s inquisitive stare. “Yeah?”

“Is there something you want to talk to me about? Because, last week in the elevator, you started-”

“There is,” Callie interrupted. “But I need a minute.” Her fingertips continued to tap the table.

“Okay.” Meredith walked over and joined her at the table, patiently waiting. 

Callie’s brow furrowed as her gaze remained on the table. “I can’t believe April gave birth here,” she mused. 

Suddenly, her eyes widened. She pulled her hands back and looked up, “You sanitized this, right?”

“It’s a new table, Callie. Now, stop changing the subject.” Meredith had given her friend enough time to stall. “In the elevator, you were talking about Arizona, weren’t you?”

Callie took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes. I was.”

“You’ve been…‘having feelings’ for Arizona?”

Again, Callie nodded.

“Okay. So, what’s your goal? What do you want?”

“I want our easy friendship back.”

Meredith smirked. “What ‘easy friendship’? Some people can never  _ just  _ be friends. You two included.” 

Callie made a face. Okay, that was true. “ _ But _ we’ve been spending a lot of time together lately. And it’s been good. Fun.” She paused wanting to explain further, but unable to come up with any words beyond,  _ easy _ and  _ friendship-y _ .

“Are you sure an easy friendship is  _ all  _ you want?” Meredith pressed. “Because, before, you said you wanted a second chance.”

“ _ I do _ ,” Callie finally conceded. There was no point in denying it anymore. Meredith wasn’t stupid. “I want to be with her.”

Meredith considered her words carefully before answering. “Callie, I’m your friend, and I’ll support you no matter what.” She fixed Callie with a stare. “I think I proved that when I testified for you,  _ so that you could move to New York with Penny _ . But now you suddenly love Arizona again?”

“Not suddenly,” Callie clarified. “I…never stopped. You  _ know _ that.” Meredith, of all people, understood the ups and downs of love. “I think everything we’ve been through, all the crap and hardship and separation...It’s all just part of our story.”

“Of course it is. But…you got  _ divorced _ .” Meredith, as always, was on Callie’s side, but she wanted her to think carefully about her choices. Trying again with the person she loved, something that Meredith herself couldn’t do, had potential life-changing possibilities for both Callie and Arizona. But if it didn’t work out, neither woman would ever recover. “Isn’t that the end of your story?” 

“No!” Callie defended. “As long as we’re both alive, it’s not the end!” 

Her eyes widened at her outburst. She hadn’t intended to say something that would hurt her friend, but the truth of the matter was that Arizona was alive _ , _ and their second chance was possible. 

After a few moments of stunned silence, Meredith nodded in understanding. “Okay.”

Callie hadn’t expected that reaction. “‘Okay’?” 

“Yeah.” Meredith swallowed the lump in her throat. “I would give anything for another chance with Derek. So I get it. If this is what you want, then I’ve got your back.”

“Thank you,” Callie exhaled her relief. “I just hope I can keep from blurting it out before I know Arizona’s receptive to it. This time, we both need to be on the same page.” 

 

* * *

 

“Okay, Claire,” Arizona smiled, “let me just get your discharge papers, and then you and little Sammy will finally be able to go home.”

“Thank you, Dr. Robbins,” the woman gushed. “You’re great, and I love that you’re my doctor, but we’re more than ready to get out of here.”

Arizona strode towards the nurse’s station in the maternity ward, grateful to be the bearer of  _ good  _ news for a change. 

She brought the paperwork back to her patient, then—walking through the quiet hallway—spotted Alex, of all people. He was standing against the wall, attempting to appear laid-back, but the way he was staring at Arizona told her a different story. 

“Karev...”

“Hey,” he breathed, hesitantly stepping forward.

“What are you doing?” she asked suspiciously. 

“Nothing!” he defended. “I’m just-”

“You’re lurking,” she accused. “In the maternity ward. It’s weird.”

“I’m not lurking,” he growled.

“Yeah...but a little bit, you are,” she teased. “What are you doing here?” She continued walking, Alex following right beside her.

“I was...looking for you,” he explained, a little embarrassed. He wasn’t often one to ask for help.

“For me? Do you need a consult?”

He sighed. “No.” 

“Well, I’m a little busy, so-”

“Look!” he snapped. “You said if I needed you, you’d be there.”

Arizona’s head shot up to look at him. “Oh,” she softened. “Okay. What is it?”

“I need to tell you something.” 

With his mentor’s eyes trained on him, Alex began to lead them down the hall toward an on-call room. He opened the door, chivalrously ushering her inside, then shut the door behind himself.

“Karev…” 

He met bright blue eyes. “I have a secret.”

“Oh!” An excited smile lit up Arizona’s face. “I  _ love  _ secrets!”

Alex attempted to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. “Right.”

Sitting down on the cot, Arizona squirmed in her seat. “So…” She patted the bed, urging Alex to sit across from her. “Tell me!”

Alex sat down. “I don’t know what to do. I had to tell someone.”

 

* * *

 

“Torres!” Bailey called out.

Callie whipped her head around, turning to face her friend. 

“What are you doing tonight?”

“Movie with Sofia. Why?”

“Change of plans,” the Chief decided. “You’re coming to Joe’s. We hired a sitter.”

Callie knit her eyebrows together, then remembered with excitement, “Oh! I totally forgot it’s your birthday! Happy birthday!” Sheepishly, she added, “ I didn’t get you anything.”

Bailey rolled her eyes. “Don’t make a big fuss. We’re just having a few drinks at Joe’s. I was fine with skipping any celebrations this year, but Ben insisted because it’s the big Four-O.” She scowled. “I’m not looking forward to being forty.”

Callie’s face twisted. “Ugh. Forty. Word of advice from someone who's recently been there: don’t suddenly take stock of your life and then make rash decisions based on fear of growing old. It doesn’t necessarily lead to positive change,” she sighed. 

“Duly noted,” Bailey smirked. “So I can count you in?”

“I’ll be there,” Callie grinned. It had been a rough year since her last birthday, but she finally felt like she was on the right path again, moving in the right direction.

“Great. Is seven okay for you?”

“That’s when my shift ends, but I’ll be there soon after.” Callie then wondered, “Hey...can I bring Mike along? He’s the guy who’s been helping with my project. He’s not from Seattle and has barely been out of his hotel room. He’s really nice and funny. You’ll like him.”

“That’s fine.” Bailey waved her off. “The more the merrier. Oh, and speaking of your project, I RSVP’d to the Armed Forces Amputee Coalition for you. The awards ceremony is next week.” 

_ Oh. Right. That. _ “Bailey,” Callie warned. “I never agreed to go.”

“That’s okay. I agreed for you.” Bailey smiled in victory and turned to walk away. “You can bring Mike as your plus-one, if you like.”

Frustrated, Callie huffed, stalking off in the opposite direction.

 

* * *

 

The more Alex talked, the wider Arizona’s eyes became. By the time he finished, she looked more like a tarsier than a woman. 

“Say something!” he demanded. He had told Arizona so that she would make him feel better, but so far, he only felt worse.

“This is a  _ bad  _ secret,” she reacted. 

“I know!” Alex insisted.

“This is the crappiest secret I’ve ever heard! It’s bad for everyone involved! It destroys everyone who touches it!”

“You think I don’t know that? I don’t know what to do. Tell me what to do!”

Arizona took a step back, physically separating herself from the situation. “I can’t.”

“Come on!” Alex fought. “You always know what to do!”

“Not this time,” she argued. “Y-y-you’re like Midas, except instead of turning everything to gold, you turn it all to c-”

“Turn it all to crap, I get it!” he finished. “ _ Fine _ . You’re right. I mess everything up. But what do I  _ do _ ?”

“Just…” She held up her hand, preventing any further panic. “Let me get this straight.”

Alex waited.

“Jo —whose real name isn’t Jo—is married. Her husband, who you  _ spoke  _ to, was physically abusive, and she ran away.”

Alex nodded. So far, Arizona had it all right.

“And she told you not to contact him, but you did.”

“I told him to stay the hell away from her!” he defended. 

Ignoring him, Arizona continued, “So you found him, called him, and then launched into some angry tirade as soon as he picked up the phone? You didn’t think about-”

“I know, okay?” Alex interrupted. “I shouldn’t have done it. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the son of a bitch laying his hands on her.”

Arizona sighed. She understood the instinct to protect the person he loved.

Filled with anxiety, Alex’s crazed eyes bored into his mentor’s. “Do you think he’d do something? Do you think he could trace my number and...find us?”

Wide eyed, Arizona shrugged. “Alex, I don’t know.”

“I mean, I didn’t tell him anything. And I doubt he has any resources. He’s probably just some deadbeat, like my dad,” Alex continued. 

“Okay. So...you’re fine,” Arizona decided. She tried to keep her tone reassuring, but she could sense that Alex was still anxious. She was, too.

“Yeah,” he agreed halfheartedly. “We’re fine.”

 

* * *

 

A few minutes later, Alex held the door open for Arizona as she stepped out of the on-call room. He followed closely behind, looking guilty. Bailey narrowed her eyes at the sight, but it was her birthday, and she wasn’t going to get involved with whatever nonsense they were involved in. 

“Hey, you two!” she called, making them both nearly jump out of their skin. Arizona clutched Alex’s arm to steady herself.

“Joe’s tonight at seven. It’s my birthday. Be there.”

 

* * *

 

At 7:35 p.m.—with Mike and Meredith in tow—Callie strode into Joe’s bar, scanning the crowd for her friends’ familiar faces.

“Torres! Grey!” Owen called out, waving them over.

All the doctors turned toward them, and Callie spotted Arizona in between Bailey and Alex. She had been so busy that she hadn’t even realized her ex-wife would be there.

Nearing the table, she watched as Arizona’s eyes remained trained on her —until they switched focus and narrowed at the man behind her.

“Heeey!” Bailey called, already a little tipsy.

“Sorry I’m late,” Callie apologized. She gestured to her acquaintance. “This is Mike Singh. He’s an engineer with Biomed who’s been helping with my new prototype. He’s not from Seattle and doesn’t know anyone, so be nice to him.” 

Owen stood up from his chair to shake hands with the stranger. “Owen Hunt,” he introduced himself. “I used to help Callie with the project, but she didn’t need me. She’s...” he trailed off, his admiration evident.

“She is brilliant, I know,” Mike agreed, smiling. “No one at Biomed even thought to use our product this way. I’m basically just here for data entry. Her prototype is going to change lives. I’m proud she let me be part of it.”

“You all know she’s getting an award next week for this, don’t you?” Bailey blurted. The few drinks she’d had were already making her loud.

Meredith turned to the brunette beside her, giving her an accusing look. “I did not.” Why hadn’t Callie said anything?

Arizona frowned. “I didn’t either.” 

“I didn't say anything to anyone because I wasn’t going to accept it!” Callie defended.

“Why not?” Amelia chimed in. “We’re surgeons. Narcissists. We love accolades.”

“She didn’t want to give the acceptance speech,” Bailey answered for Callie. “Said something about having no one to hold her hair back when she pukes.” 

“No I didn’t. Bailey!” Callie blushed, her eyes involuntarily flicking toward Arizona. 

“That’s what you were thinking,” Bailey shot back, smiling triumphantly when Callie’s expression confirmed her assumption.

Meredith touched her friend’s arm. “Callie, don’t let your fear of public speaking keep you from accepting an honor you deserve.”

Callie sighed. “I know, and I’m going.”

“Wait,” Mike cut in, confused. “I watched your Ted Talk. You sounded fine. Not scared at all.”

Callie’s eyebrows flew up. “You watched that?” 

“Of course,” Mike replied, his smile easy and full of professional admiration. “When Biomed asked me to come to Seattle to help you, I googled you. After what I read, I jumped at the chance to be involved in one of your projects.”

Callie smiled. “Well, I’m flattered.” 

“Are you sure you have to give a speech?” Arizona knew how much Callie despised public speaking. 

Before Callie could answer, she watched as Arizona turned to the woman on her left. 

“Bailey, you should go! She needs someone there.” If Callie was going to win some grand award, she really wanted the night to go well for her .

“Well…” Bailey started, distracted by the way Callie was watching them. 

“Do you want us to come?” Owen cut in, smiling at Callie. “We can go support you.”

“No,” Callie insisted. “Thank you, but no. It’s not a big deal.”

Noting her friends’ surprised expressions, she softened her tone. “Trust me, if I have to give a  speech, the less people there, the better.” She felt her breathing shift at the mere thought of a room full of people with their eyes on her. 

“Callie,” Arizona soothed, though her voice remained insistent. “You should have a friendly face in the audience. Especially if you have to give a speech.”

Meeting Arizona’s eyes, Callie knew she was right. Arizona had always known what she needed. Still, the very idea of anyone she knew being there made her feel sick to her stomach, so she just shook her head. 

Watching the little exchange, Bailey noticed the way Callie’s body seemed to visibly loosen, just by listening to the easy lull and cadence of Arizona’s voice. Anxious and shifty just seconds before, the brunette visibly relaxed: the tension fell from her shoulders and her breathing evened out. It seemed that, as soon as her fear formed, Arizona alone was able to dissolve it.

Making an executive decision, the chief cleared her throat. “We can’t all go, anyway,” she clarified. “Just the honoree and her date. The event is invite-only.”

 

* * *

 

An hour later, Alex and Arizona were up at the bar buying drinks, when she suddenly turned toward her  protégé .

“So what’s up with this Mike guy, anyway?”

Alex shrugged. “You heard Callie. He’s some sort of engineer.”

“I know  _ that _ ,” Arizona huffed. “But, I mean, could you get a read on him?”

“Seems nice enough.” Frankly, Alex didn’t care. He just wanted a drink. Lots of them. 

“He said he  _ googled  _ Callie,” Arizona continued. “Isn’t that kind of creepy? I mean, he knows all about her. What do you think his intentions are? You know what sort of people Google people, right?”

“What sort is that?”

“The unscrupulous sort.”

“I googled Jo’s ex!”

“And your scruples are sometimes questionable! So you proved my point.”

“Whatever. Why do you care, anyway?” Alex countered. 

“I just do!” Arizona insisted. 

Alex studied the blonde, noticing the way she watched Callie and the man beside her. “Dude.”

Arizona turned to him. “What?” she snapped defensively.

“You’ve gotta reason with your green-eyed monster.”

“I’m not jealous, Karev.”

“Whatever you say...”

“Alex,” Arizona warned. “I’m not.”

“You can deny it all you want, but I remember how drunk you got the first night she brought Blake around.”

“Well, you’re one to talk! At least  _ I _ didn’t beat the crap out of the woman.”

“Yeah, well, Jo and I are together. It makes sense for me to be jealous. And I told you the thing with DeLuca was a misunderstanding.”

“Brought on by jealousy,” Arizona finished matter-of-factly.

“Fine, but I accept it...unlike you.”

“There is nothing to accept! I’m not jealous. I love her, and want her to be happy, but…”

“Dude,  _ what _ ?”

“What?”

“You said you love her.”

“No, I didn’t.” Arizona didn’t know where that had come from. Well, she knew, but she hadn’t wanted to admit it, even to herself.

“Yes, you did!” he insisted. “You said it.”

“I’m pretty sure I would know if I were still in love with her, Alex,” she lied.

“Look, it’s okay. It’s normal for you to still have feelings,” he softened. “I want to spend the rest of my life with Jo, but sometimes I still think about Izzie and what if we had made it, you know?”

“Right.” Arizona closed her eyes. “It doesn’t mean that I want to get back together or anything. There’s just lingering...stuff. There will always be stuff.”

“Sure,” he nodded. “ _ Stuff _ .”

Arizona sighed. There were definitely feelings, but she didn’t want anyone to know. She wasn’t ready for that, yet, and she was pretty sure that Callie wasn’t either.

“So…what do you say we keep this conversation between us?”

“I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine,” Alex swore. And with that, he took a long swig of his beer and walked off.

 

* * *

 

“Callie.” Meredith approached the brunette, who was standing at the bar getting the next round of drinks. “You’re positive you don’t want to bring anyone?” she pressed. “I mean, Arizona has a point. You really  _ should  _ have a friendly face in the audience. Cristina thought she didn’t want anyone at the Harper Avery award ceremony, but she was grateful that Owen and I came anyway.”

Callie shrugged nonchalantly, but Meredith was right. It always helped to have people to look to for support. People she trusted. 

Callie knew exactly who she wanted to take, but it was probably too soon to go there. So she lied. “I don’t know...”

Meredith nodded in acceptance, offering, “Well, you know I’ll be there if you want me. I’m a great clapper.”

Callie laughed. “I don’t doubt that.” She offered her friend a genuine smile. “Thank you.”

Meredith returned the smile, and the pair headed back to their table with a tray of drinks.

 

* * *

 

Having kept her distance for most of the night, Arizona approached Callie, who was sitting quietly at the other end of the table. Breaking the ice, she tilted her head towards Mike, who appeared to be chatting up Stephanie . “They seem to be getting along.”

Callie followed Arizona’s eyes, grinning, “I know. Apparently, they went to the same school for undergrad. I’m glad he’s finally getting to know a few people. He’s a nice guy.”

“Smart, too,” Arizona added, teasing, “He recognizes your genius.”

Callie looked down, attempting to hide her flushing cheeks and flattered smile. “Well…”

“I mean it. This thing next week is a big honor,” Arizona continued. “You’ve really done great work.”

Callie shrugged, self-deprecating as she argued, “Not really. It’s not like I’m winning a Harper Avery.”

“No, you’re being awarded by the people you’ve actually helped,” Arizona countered with a gleam in her eye. 

Callie had changed soldiers’ lives. And, more than that, she had  _ saved  _ soldiers’ lives —Arizona herself knew a few former Marines who had lost themselves (or worse) when they had lost their ability to serve.

Callie’s award—her work—was a big deal, and Arizona wasn’t going to let her ex-wife minimize that.

“Fine. It’s an honor,” Callie surrendered, affectionately rolling her eyes at the woman who always seemed to be right. 

Triumphant, Arizona dimpled, loving the way her ex-wife brightened as soon as they locked eyes.

“How is April doing, by the way?” Callie wondered, needing to call the attention away from her own success. Arizona’s admiration felt so good that she felt her entire body begin to hum like an airplane on take-off, and she worried the dizziness would make her say something she shouldn’t. “Is Harriet letting her get any sleep?”

“April’s good,” Arizona replied with ease. “I think Jackson’s helping out a lot, which is good for all three of them.”

“Is she coming back to work soon?”`

Arizona nodded. “She’s scheduled next week, but we’ll see. I think she’ll want more time with the baby. I  _ still  _ have trouble leaving Sofia.”

“Good point,” Callie agreed. “It’s hard leaving them when they’re so little. But it will be nice for you, having your friend back at work.”

Arizona shrugged, unconcerned. “Honestly, it won’t even compare to how I felt when you came back,” she confessed. Catching herself and eager to change the subject, she asked, “Do you think Sof will get along with Bailey’s sitter? Did you meet her?”

“Yup. Carla seems great. She’s Tuck-approved, and if he’s anything like his mother....”

“They’ll both have thoroughly vetted her,” Arizona finished, chuckling. 

“Yeah, Bailey gave me her full resume. She’s a retired Spanish teacher, originally from Guatemala. Her kids are already away at college, and she lives next door.”

Arizona’s eyebrows shot up. “Maybe we should get her email,” she mused. “I want Sofia to practice her Spanish more.”

 

* * *

 

“Grey! Grey!” Bailey,  _ truly  _ drunk for the first time all year, swatted Meredith a little harder than was necessary.

“What? Ow!” Meredith ripped her arm away, rubbing it with her other hand. “ _ What _ ?”

“You see what I’m seeing?” Stealthily, she pointed toward Callie and Arizona, who were leaning toward each other in order to hear over the loud bar patrons. 

Meredith knew  _ exactly  _ what Bailey was seeing, but for the sake of privacy, she played dumb. “What are we looking at?”

“Them!” Bailey snapped. “Robbins and Torres. Callie and Arizona. No…” Coming to a sudden realization, she paused before exclaiming, “ _ Calzona _ !”

Meredith snorted. “Please don’t say that again. Isn’t that a food?”

“That’s a calzone, Grey. Very delicious, but not the point,” Bailey argued. “Are they dating?”

“They’re not dating.” That was the truth.

Bailey accepted that answer, but she couldn’t help asking, “Do they  _ want  _ to be dating?”

Meredith pursed her lips, unwilling to betray her friend’s trust—at least not directly.

“Meredith Grey!” Bailey scolded. “I am the Chief! You have to answer.”

“Well,  _ look  _ at them,” Meredith hinted. 

And it wasn’t even that Callie and Arizona were flirting with each other. They weren’t. They did, however, look entirely devoted, focused solely on the other as if there were no one else in the entire bar. That spoke volumes. What she and Bailey saw looked like deep, palpable love.

And for a minute, they both watched the two women with unconscious grins. Then, suddenly, Bailey decided, “They’re in  _ love _ !” and dissolved into a fit of giggles, burying her face in Meredith’s shoulder. 

Recovering, she sat back up, attempting to maintain a serious expression despite her drunken giggles. “I knew it.”

Meredith smirked. “No, you didn’t.”

“Yes, I did. Grey, I am the Chief. I see everything. I know… _ everything _ .”

“Okay...” Still, Meredith was unconvinced. She took a sip of her drink and eyed Bailey, silently challenging her. 

“I’ll prove it,” Bailey whispered, gesturing for the other woman to lean in closer. Conspiratorially, she continued, “The Armed Forces actually offered us twenty tickets.”

Meredith’s eyebrows flew up. “What? But you said-”

Bailey crossed her arms. “Mmm-hmm, I said there were only two, but I lied. I could see the way they were looking at each other. It was obvious that Callie doesn’t want anyone there but Arizona. And Arizona desperately wanted to go, so I made that possible.”

“Bailey!” Meredith exclaimed, beyond impressed. “I didn’t know you had matchmaking in you!”

“They belong together, and it’s about time they remember that.” 

Meredith nodded in agreement. Who was she to argue with fate?

Silently, they continued to watch the two women interact while they sipped their drinks. 

After a few passing moments, Bailey refocused her attention on Meredith. “How long have you been sleeping with Dr. Riggs?”

Meredith choked on her tequila, her face turning red as she turned to look at the chief.

Bailey reached over and gently patted her on the back. “I told you, I know everything.”

 

* * *

 

An hour later, Arizona’s yearning-filled eyes followed Callie’s form making its way to the back of the bar towards the bathroom. 

And, deciding she may as well reapply her lipstick during the lull in conversation, her own feet soon followed in the brunette’s direction.

Pushing the door open, she saw Callie standing at the sink and felt a sudden sensation of deja vu come over her.

“Hey,” she smiled, her stomach doing backflips. There was something about that bathroom…

Callie caught blue eyes in the mirror, her lips curling up into a smile. “Hey,” she breathed. She couldn’t help but think about the  _ last  _ time they’d been there, like this.

She turned to face the blonde. “You having fun tonight?”

Arizona nodded. “It’s always fun to see Bailey drunk.”

Callie laughed. “It is.” She felt her heart speed up in anticipation —of what, she didn’t know.

She waited in suspense for Arizona to say something else, wondering what was going through the blonde’s mind between their pause in conversation.

“Um.” Arizona cleared her throat. “I was just going to put on some lipstick.”

After a moment of silence, the comment registered. “Oh!” Callie yelped, immediately jumping away from the sink. “Right. Sorry.” She shook her head, embarrassed by her entrancement. “I really like that color on you.”

Tenderly, Arizona smiled at the compliment as she approached the sink.

Callie felt herself shudder at the warmth she could practically feel radiating off of Arizona as she passed by, their arms just barely brushing. Her fingertips practically singed with a need for more contact. “Well…” She paused. “I should probably get back out there.”

Arizona nodded. “I guess we’ll see each other in a minute.”

“Yeah.” Callie nodded one too many times. She wanted to say more but didn’t know how. As she backed toward the door, she risked one more look at Arizona before opening the door and taking a step out of the small space.

Until a second later, when she stumbled right back in. 

Arizona turned around, more alarmed than surprised.  _ What’s going on? _

“Oh! Yeah! Also,” Callie began. “I was thinking about what you said...”

Arizona waited.

Callie began to ramble. “If you’re not busy next Saturday night, and not working, and, maybe, wouldn’t mind, I wanted to ask-”

“Callie.” Arizona interrupted her nervous blithering with a smile. 

Callie gulped, reigning herself in.

“The awards thing next week, and my, um, plus-one,” she croaked. “I, uh…” She paused, building her courage. 

Biting her lip, she looked up to meet the gentle eyes caressing her face, which finally prompted her to ask: “Will you be my friendly face?”

  
  
  
  
  



	6. Episode 6: Time After Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode 6 Summary: It always comes back to a leg.

_“If you're lost you can look and you will find me_

_time after time._

_If you fall I will catch you, I will be waiting_

_time after time.”_

 

* * *

 

Arizona wasn’t used to waking up in someone else’s bed. Usually, when she slept with someone, there was never any _sleeping_ going on; instead, she always left after the main event.

But this time she had stayed. This time had felt different. _This woman_ was different. With her blue eyes fluttering open, she rolled over and looked at the beautiful woman lying beside her—the woman she had broken her rules for.

Their night together had been amazing, and as Arizona watched the brunette sleep—the blue paisley sheets twisted around her naked body and the pizza box discarded on the floor below—she felt her heart surge with love and affection.

Arizona liked her. She really, really liked her. And she hoped that the night they had spent together would be the first of many more to come.

She reached out to touch the gorgeous sleeping beauty, aching to trace those pillowy lips…

As her arm moved forward, she was jolted back into reality.

She wasn’t in bed with the woman she still loved. Instead, she was alone, and her bed was cold and half-empty.

She rolled onto her back with a sigh, staring at the ceiling. She hadn’t thought about her and Callie’s first time in years. Truthfully, she hadn’t allowed herself to think of Callie in _that way_ for years—not since the divorce.

She had let all of that go. She had let her ex-wife go, but then Callie had stayed _,_ and now her heart wanted more.

 _But we’re friends_ , she reminded herself. _Just friends. And, tonight, I need to be_ _friendly_. 

 

* * *

 

Callie laid in her bed, staring at the clock. She’d slept well despite her nerves, but woke up before her alarm sounded. Arizona was on her mind―lately, Arizona was always on her mind. Thoughts of her ex permeated her very being, and once she had opened herself up to the idea that they could become _them_ again, those thoughts became constant.

And Callie couldn’t get enough of her, real or imagined. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to once again conjure up an image of love. Her heart fluttered as she imagined Arizona next to her. The image was so vibrant that she could almost smell her shampoo.

She sighed. _How the hell am I supposed to be_ _friendly_ _tonight?_

 

* * *

 

April Kepner sat in a chair in the corner of Arizona’s room with a hungry Harriet squirming in her arms.

“Harriet’s hungry. Do you mind if I feed her?”

Arizona poked her head out of the bathroom, where she was trying on dresses, to answer her friend. “Of course not.”

April lifted her shirt and the baby quickly latched onto her breast, quieting immediately.

Seconds later, Arizona came out in a long red dress. “What do you think?”

April shrugged. “I think I like the blue one better.”

“Callie likes red.” Arizona stepped back into her bathroom and slipped off the dress, changing into her robe so she could apply her make-up.

“I thought you said this wasn’t a date.” April raised her voice so she could be heard in the other room. “What does it matter what Callie likes?”

Arizona ignored April’s question as she reentered her room and sat down at her vanity table. Noticing April’s eyes on her in the reflection of the mirror, she argued, “It’s not a date.”

“Okay.” April was unconvinced, but she let it go. “Are you sure this doesn’t bother you?” She waved her free hand at her chest, referring to the breast feeding.

Arizona smirked. “April, I’ve seen plenty of boobs. Yours are nothing special.”

“Thanks. Way to make a girl feel good about her post-baby body.”

“Sorry,” Arizona apologized, turning back to face her friend. “I’m just...nervous.”

“About what? I thought it wasn’t a date.” April grinned triumphantly as she switched Harriet to the other breast with practiced ease.

“It’s not,” Arizona insisted a little too quickly. She sighed. “It isn’t. Really. I’m just going because she wanted someone there to keep her calm.”

“Not ‘someone,’” April corrected smugly. “She asked _you_.”

Blushing a little, Arizona maintained, “That’s only because I know her best.”

“And she likes you best, just like you like _her_ best.”

“April!” Arizona snapped. “You’re not helping!” April reminding her of her more-than-friendly feelings for Callie wasn’t quite setting her up for a night of friendliness.

“I’m just telling the truth!” April insisted. “I’ve always been honest with you when it comes to Callie. I’m not going to stop now.”

“Fine,” Arizona surrendered with a roll of her eyes. “You win. As much as this isn’t a date, it feels a little like a date. Happy?”

Grinning, April nodded. She watched her friend for a moment, then asked seriously, “Are you?”

 

* * *

 

“I think it’s weird,” Maggie stated matter-of-factly.

“What is?” Meredith wondered.

“Callie and Arizona, going to this thing together. You don’t think that’s weird?”

“What’s weird?” Callie walked into the kitchen where the two sisters were chatting, having only caught the tail end of the question. She hung her garment bag on the door and placed her make-up case on the table. “Zola let us in,” she explained, noting their surprised expressions. “Sofia has been bugging me all afternoon, so we came a little early. Now, what’s weird?”

“Maggie,” Meredith supplied, pointing toward her sister. “She’s weird.”

“No, I’m not,” Maggie defended. “I’m the most normal person here.”

“Hey!” Meredith and Callie exclaimed in unison.

Maggie just shrugged and took a bite of her apple. “You know I’m right.” At Callie’s raised eyebrow, she continued. “What? You’re going on a date with your _ex-wife_. Weird. And that one,” Maggie pointed to her sister, “is in her sexual prime and living life as a nun. Also weird-”

“Okay, I’m going to have to stop you right there.” Callie held up her hand. “No one says ‘sexual prime.’”

“Unless they’re weird,” Meredith joked, referring to Maggie.

“Besides, it’s not really a _date_. We’re driving separately and-”

“Oh my god,” Maggie blurted, interrupting Callie. “You’re right! I…I _am_ weird. Do you think that’s why Nathan keeps blowing me off?” She walked around the kitchen island and stood directly in front of the other two women.

Callie quickly glanced at Meredith, who was at a loss, then back at Maggie, who was actually waiting for an answer.

“I’m sure that’s not the reason,” Callie stammered. “Maybe…he’s seeing someone else?”

“Who?” She took a step toward Callie, hoping her friend knew some gossip that she wasn’t privy to.

Callie took a cautious step back, trying to distance herself from the question.“Who, what?” She played dumb, cursing herself for bringing more attention to the uncomfortable subject.

“Who do you think he’s seeing?” Maggie pressed. “The only person I ever really see him talking to is Meredith, and I know it’s not her because she’s a nun. So, who do _you_ think it is?”

Callie blanched. “Um…I don’t know...” She looked at Meredith, who was silently pleading with her to keep the secret.

Needing a diversion, Callie offered the first thing that came to mind. “So, uh…Arizona and I have a date tonight. Isn’t that weird?”

 

* * *

 

“Do you really think it’s a date?” Arizona worried. “Like, do you think _she_ thinks it’s a date?”

“I don’t know, Arizona. I haven’t been around much lately. But, strictly speaking as an outside observer, it _looks_ like a date. How did she ask?”

Arizona’s heart sped up as she recalled the gentle request Callie had made in the bar bathroom. She smiled her response. “She asked me to be her ‘friendly face.’”

“Okay, that…” April narrowed her eyes. “...Is confusing and unhelpful. Did she say anything else?” she pressed.

Arizona shook her head. “No. That was it.”

“Well, how did you respond?”

“I said ‘okay.’” It had really been that simple. And, sure, she had been thinking _oh, yes, oh, yes, oh, yes!_ but _okay_ had certainly sufficed.

“Ugh, you two!” April groaned in frustration. “Do _you_ want it to be a date?”

Arizona pursed her lips, pretending to consider her friend’s question. But she knew. Quietly, she admitted, “Yes.”

The corners of April’s mouth began quirking up. “Do you think _she_ wants it to be a date?”

“Well, we’ve been spending a lot of time together,” Arizona began. “We’re in a really good place, and I know she’s feeling something. I can tell from the way she looks at me. And I feel it, too. And it feels good...being with her.” _Being friendly,_ she reminded herself. “Better than it has in years. But what if I’m wrong? What if being ‘friendly’ is all she wants?”

“Don’t worry,” April advised. “Just be yourself. By the end of the night, you’ll know if it’s a date or not.” And she was fairly certain it would be.

 

* * *

 

“I never really saw you two as a couple,” Maggie began. She and Meredith were side-by-side on Meredith’s bed while Callie changed into her dress in the adjoining bathroom. “You were kind of in your death throes when I started working here.”

“We…weren’t in a good place,” Callie agreed. She opened the bathroom door and walked into the room, fully dressed. “But for awhile…we were amazing.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to see that.” Maggie genuinely liked them both, and she would’ve liked to have seen them happy together. “How long were you together?”

“Five years, married for three.” Callie couldn’t believe they had now been divorced for as long as they’d been married.

Meredith turned to face Maggie. “Did you know that their wedding anniversary is the same as mine and Derek’s?”

Maggie smiled. “I didn’t. Who got married first?”

“Oh, it happened at the same time,” Callie answered, then pointed an accusing finger at Meredith. “They skipped our wedding so they could go to the courthouse and get married themselves. I’m still a little salty, to be honest,” she teased. “You missed a great party.”

“You know it was for a good cause!” Meredith reminded her. Turning back to Maggie, she explained, “We were trying to adopt Zola.”

“I’m so glad that worked out. I love my niece.”

Callie walked toward the mirror and looked herself over. “Are you sure this looks okay?”

“You look ready to be honored,” Meredith assured her. “Very classy.”

“But do I look hot? I want to look hot.”

“You look hot,” Maggie confirmed. “If I weren’t already interested in Nathan, I’d totally got out with you.”

Wide-eyed, Callie and Meredith turned to Maggie, wanting to gauge her sincerity.

Maggie just flashed them a self-satisfied grin.

 

* * *

 

As soon as Callie arrived at the ballroom, she was immediately overwhelmed. There were well-dressed donors and decorated soldiers, men and women from every branch of the military, milling around everywhere she looked. She already knew that finding Arizona wouldn’t be easy.

She couldn’t even imagine _giving a speech_ to so many people.

Gulping, she began to make her way through the crowd, anxious to unite with her...date.

As she squeezed between two separate circles of people chatting, a man in uniform shifted his attention, staring right at her. “You’re Dr. Torres.”

Callie’s eyebrows flew up. “I am,” she nodded, her voice revealing her anxiety.

He extended his right hand. “I’m Corporal Parker. You saved my buddy’s life.”

When she didn’t answer right away, he continued, “You remember Nick Sanchez?”

“Oh, Nick!” Callie exclaimed, remembering her patient who’d had his leg blown off by an insurgent’s grenade. “How is he?”

Parker grinned. “He’s on the front line because of you. Back where he should be.”

Callie smiled, her nervousness abating the slightest bit. “Last time I talked to him, he was getting ready for the fitness test again. I’m so glad to hear he’s finally back to doing what he loves.”

“Well, you really helped him,” Parker insisted. “Trust me, you’re his biggest hero. And that’s saying a lot.”

He and Callie talked about their mutual connection for another minute, and then Callie excused  herself, continuing to search for her blonde. Where was Arizona?

 

* * *

 

Standing to the side of the bar, apart from the action, Arizona smoothed her hands over her red floor-length satin gown. Where was Callie?

She watched as a middle-aged man in a well-fitting tuxedo strode toward the bar then stopped and shifted his direction when he saw her, approaching her with a tentative smile.

“Are you here alone?” he wondered, standing by the wall right beside her.

Wide eyed, Arizona began, “Um…”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” The man shook his head. “I’m not hitting on you. You’re just the only other date-less person I’ve seen. I’m waiting for my wife to get here.”

“Me, too,” Arizona smiled. “Well,” she backtracked, “My ex-wife.”

The man smiled back. “I’m Robert Loebl.” He held out his hand.

“Arizona Robbins.” She shook it, then realized, “Aren’t you being awarded for…?”

“Yeah,” he blushed. “I came up with a new procedure for people shot in the intestines in the field. It’s pretty specific, so I’m not sure how much it really h-”

Arizona shook her head. “Your procedure has saved lives,” she argued. “I read about it in _Critical Care_.”

Robert raised an eyebrow. “You’re a doctor?”

Arizona nodded. “At Grey-Sloan.”

They made small-talk for a few more minutes until his wife arrived and swept him away to go mingle, leaving Arizona alone again. And, _man_ , she was really regretting leaving her phone in the car.

Grabbing two glasses of wine from the bar—one white and one red—Arizona began walking towards the hoards of people. If Callie was late, that at least gave Arizona time to talk her up to the other guests in the meantime.

Just as she found a group of people that seemed friendly enough to approach, she caught sight of thick black hair that she would know anywhere. She felt her heartbeat speed up, suddenly erratic in her chest.

And then Callie turned around, and Arizona’s heart stopped entirely.

She was _that_ beautiful—heart-stoppingly beautiful. Miraculously, breath-takingly stunning. Even before they locked eyes, Arizona couldn’t take her eyes off her.

And, maybe, Callie felt the same way because, for a moment, the whole world seemed to still in suspension. Then, both women began making their way to each other, pushing past everyone in their path.

When they were finally mere feet apart, Callie sighed in relief. “You’re here.”

Arizona offered a soft nod, her eyes running over Callie’s body, taking in every inch. “You look…” She paused, momentarily speechless. “ _Beautiful_.”

 _Damn it,_ she swore. _We’re just friends._ _Friends_ _._

Callie’s cheeks burned at the sincerity in her ex-wife’s tone. “So do you,” she promised.

Arizona smiled. Her body was _buzzing_ —there was no other way to describe the feeling of pleasure. “How are you?” she worried.

“I’m…” Callie began to fidget, reminded again of her impending speech.

“Here.” Arizona handed her the glass of red wine. “This will help.”

Grateful, Callie accepted the glass, immediately taking a sip. “Thanks.”

Not sure what to talk about, Arizona offered the first question she could think of. “What did you do today?”

“Panicked,” Callie admitted honestly. “You?”

Arizona shrugged. “Saw April and Harriet. Got ready.” She didn’t want to disclose how long it had taken her just to choose a dress.

“Well…” Callie began, heart thumping. “You look good. _Really good_ ,” she added, almost inaudibly.

But _really good_ didn’t even begin to describe Arizona. She was mystically gorgeous, and desirable, and brilliant, and kind, and…

“Should we sit down?” Arizona offered, gesturing towards an empty round table. “It might help with the nerves.”

“Right.” Callie affirmed. “Good idea.”

 

* * *

 

“So,” Callie prompted, a while later. “What ever happened with that woman you went on a date with?”

“Who?” Arizona furrowed her eyebrows. “Gail?”

Callie nodded.

“Well…” Arizona cleared her throat, a little sheepish. “I…”

“You’re not still seeing her, are you?” Callie worried. Her intuition told her that was unlikely, but still, it was possible. Wasn’t it?

“No.”

“Okay…” Sensing the blonde’s hesitation only served to pique Callie’s interest.

Arizona rolled her eyes at own silliness, deciding once and for all to be honest. _This is Callie_ , she reminded herself. Callie knew her better than anyone.

“Remember when I left you that drunken voicemail?” She was so mortified by the memory that she almost brought her hands up to hide her face, but she decided she had too much pride for that.

Callie’s mouth fell open as the implication sunk in. “Oh no.”

“Oh, yes,” Arizona confirmed, half-cringing at the memory. “Gail was there for that.”

“Oooh,” Callie sympathized. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

“I’m not,” Arizona admitted, without an ounce of regret in her voice.

Callie laughed. “Yeah. I guess I’m not either.”

 

* * *

 

“And, now,” the host began, “We’d like to welcome our final honoree to the stage to tell us about her groundbreaking prosthetic leg project. Please give a warm welcome to Dr. Callie Torres!”

Everyone began to politely applaud and, when Callie made no move to stand, Arizona placed a soothing hand on her thigh. “You can do this,” she insisted. “If you get nervous up there, just look at me.”

Callie nodded, struggling to stand up in all her anxiety. Still, she managed to make her way to the stage, smile at the host, and approach the microphone.

“Hi,” she began, sporting an adorably nervous smile.

The crowd chuckled, and a few guys even whistled, which helped to break the ice.

“Come on, Callie,” Arizona whispered to herself, knees bouncing. “You’ve got this.”

Callie cleared her throat then dove in, forcing herself to be brave. “When I first started this project, I only had one goal in mind—and it wasn’t recognition or accolades. It was actually a lot more selfish than that.” She paused, her eyes scanning over the faces in the crowd. “I started this project to help one person in particular.”

Finally, her eyes landed on just that person.

Arizona would’ve choked right then had she been eating or drinking anything. Callie’s stare was so intense that she couldn’t move, couldn’t look away for even a moment.

“Initially, I started this to help someone who ultimately I realized didn’t need my help. And as much as this project continues to help so many people recover from such a loss, I never expected that it would have such a profound effect on _me_.”

Arizona attempted to offer Callie an encouraging smile, knowing that period of time had been a struggle for them both—separately and together. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but because neither woman had been able to give the other what she’d needed at the time. And that might’ve been the biggest tragedy of all.

“I was at a place in my life where nothing made sense; my faith in myself and the world was wavering, and I was…” She paused, swallowing hard. “Overcome with guilt and failure—and I thought this project could fix everything. But it was _me_ who needed fixing.”

A few members of the audience nodded, understanding on some level how it felt to feel so lost.

Arizona watched Callie in silence, feeling some regret for the past, but mostly just joy and pride for Callie in that moment. _And always._

“This project was full of successes and failures—and, trust me, there were _plenty_ of failures-”

Again, the audience chuckled, endeared by her humility.

Smiling, she then continued, “And, ultimately, I’m not the same person I was when I first started this project, but someone remade.”

Arizona nodded. So was she. And she was relieved that Callie understood and embraced that—since the crash and the divorce—they had transformed into different, stronger, better people. And that was a _good_ thing.

“It has allowed me to heal myself and help people along the way. I’ve been lucky enough to personally meet and work with Private Sanchez, Sergeant Wells, Private Johnson, Private First Class Marcus, and Corporal Willingham, and I’m forever humbled by the courage they exhibit every day.”

Unconsciously, the palm of Arizona’s right hand laid over her heart, as if to keep the tenderness that filled her from overflowing.

“First steps are hard,” Callie continued. “I’ve learned that through my career, through the soldiers I’ve worked with, through having a daughter—who fell a lot before she learned to walk-”

The audience laughed, and Arizona smiled at the memory of a ten-month-old Sofia taking her first steps.

“ _And_ through the person who first inspired this project,” Callie finished. Once again, brown eyes located clear blues.

Arizona stared back, transfixed.

“First steps are hard,” she repeated. “ _Second_ first steps are even harder. Our fear of pain and failure hold us back. But once you take that step, the ones that follow become easier. And then, one day, you’re on the front line: ready for anything.”

Looking around, Arizona noticed that the audience was captivated—a few were even dabbing their eyes with their cocktail napkins.

“With the new advancements that I’ve made, it’s time to move this project beyond where it’s been the past couple of years. Today, I feel that I am closer to the front line than ever, and it’s time to keep moving forward.”

Arizona turned her attention back to the stage as Callie concluded her speech, their eyes locking.

“I’m ready to take my next first step.”

 

* * *

 

When her speech and the subsequent applause ended, music began to play, and Callie hightailed it toward her table, weaving her way through the crowd as people began to trickle onto the dancefloor.

She approached the table nervously, not sure what to expect. But as soon as she saw Arizona twinkling at her, her lips broke into a tentative smile.

Coming to stand in front of the blonde, Callie took a deep breath and asked, “What’d you think?” She couldn’t remember the speech she had just given. It had been erased from her memory in her anxiety and, for all she knew, it had been terrible.

Arizona smiled impossibly wider, marvelling at the taller woman. “You’re amazing.”

Callie pursed her lips, attempting to control her suddenly face-splitting smile. Confident as she usually was, she felt her cheeks redden at the compliment.

“And,” Arizona grinned, “You’ve gotten a whole lot better at public speaking.”

Callie laughed, finally able to relax. “Well, you being here...anchored me.”

Forcing herself to maintain eye contact, she shyly added, “It helped.”

Arizona’s eyes widened, and she momentarily was caught off guard by Callie’s sincerity. “I, um.” Unsure of how to respond, she decided to change the subject, “What do you want to do now? Can I get you a drink?”

Callie shook her head. “I think I’d like to just sit for a few minutes and lower my blood pressure.”

“Okay,” Arizona gently agreed. “Let’s do that.”

 

* * *

 

After a some time spent people-watching, Arizona turned her attention away from the dancefloor to face Callie directly. She watched her silently—taking in her soft lips, her light freckles, and the golden specks reflected in her dark eyes.

Empowered by her ex-wife’s speech, she braved, “Do you want to dance?”

Surprised, Callie turned to the blonde, her breath quickening. “What?”

A little self-conscious, Arizona backtracked, “Well, it’s your night, and I was thinking we could dance. If you want to, I mean” she quickly amended.

Callie’s eyebrows shot up. “Do _you_ want to?”

“Well... _yeah_ ,” Arizona confessed. “As long as you do.”

Callie just offered a soft nod, her eyes shining.

That was all the affirmation Arizona needed. She stood up, held out her shaking hand, and whispered, “Come on.”

And Callie didn’t hesitate. She reached for Arizona’s hand as she rose from her chair, and they walked side-by-side to the middle of the dancefloor.

They stood two feet from each other, and Arizona regretfully dropped Callie’s hand, unsure of how to take the next step.

Feeling stifled by the silence, Callie offered, “I’m really glad you came to this thing tonight.”

Arizona’s lips quirked up. “I wanted to. To be here for you.”

Callie met the blonde’s gaze, taking note of the way those blue eyes were searing into her. She knew Arizona was saying so much more. And as a slow, familiar song began to play, those eyes never strayed from hers.

Arizona stepped forward. She lifted her hands to hover above Callie’s shoulders, feeling her stomach dip in panic—or maybe anticipation—for what was about to happen.

Without hesitation, Callie’s hands came up to her waist, and Arizona allowed her own hands to fall onto smooth caramel skin, her breath shuddering out at the contact.

Feeling the shift in Arizona’s breathing, Callie tightened her grip, pulling her closer.

Arizona was practically breathing in the brunette, and, still, she wasn’t close enough. Attempting to subtly fill the space that was left between their bodies, she slowly ran her hands over Callie’s shoulders until she could wrap her arms around her neck.

And the way Callie pulled her in was automatic, their bodies suddenly flush against each other—softness against softness and curves hugging curves.

 _We’re just friends_ , Arizona attempted to remind herself again. But it was hard. The way they were, right then, didn’t feel friendly. It felt like a date.

With her thumbs ever-so-slightly rubbing circles against the smaller woman’s waist, Callie murmured, “I can’t even remember the last time we danced.”

And Arizona knew that Callie was excluding their awkward foot-shuffling at Bailey’s wedding. That night hadn’t counted. She’d been too self-conscious to really trust her wife, or even her own feet.

No. Arizona vividly recalled that the last time they’d danced together had been years ago. Softly, she rested her head on Callie’s shoulder.“I remember.”

Callie pulled away, just enough to look into sparkling blue eyes.

“It was our anniversary,” Arizona elaborated, smiling wistfully. “Mark had Sofia, and we went to that fancy restaurant and then came home and just stayed in each other’s arms, swaying to Ella Fitzgerald.”

Callie released a shaky sigh, then worried that Arizona might feel it vibrating against her. “That was a good night,” she smiled. “Still...” She paused, regretful. “I can’t believe that was the last time.”

Arizona pursed her lips. “I know,” she agreed, her eyes not wavering from the deep brown staring back at her. “I could’ve danced with you forever.”

Callie leaned in, closing her eyes as she rested her cheek against the blonde’s. “Me, too.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, both women treasuring the moment in each other’s arms.

As another slow song began to play, Arizona prompted, “Callie?”

“Hmm?” Callie replied, distracted and consumed by the sweet scent of blonde hair.

With her fingertips running over the nape of Callie’s neck, light as gossamer, Arizona admitted, “I knew—before the speech, I mean—I knew that you started this project for me.”

“Yeah,” Callie hummed in thoughtful confirmation. “I just wanted you to be happy.” Quietly, she added, “I still do.”

Arizona smiled, pulling back to look into Callie’s shimmering eyes. “Right now, with you…” She paused. “I’m really happy.”

 

* * *

 

Half an hour later, Callie and Arizona exited the ballroom, walking toward the parking lot in stifling silence as they thought back to the events of the evening.

Callie had said that she was ready to take her next first step. _With me_ , Arizona presumed, because that much had been clear. With their intimate dance, it had only become clearer.

She just wasn’t sure what she was supposed to _do_ with that knowledge—whether Callie was waiting for her to confess a similar desire, or if she wanted to follow up with a confession of her own.

So she had opted to stay silent, and, to her dismay, so had Callie.

Finally, out in the cool, fresh air, the women swallowed their worries and turned to face each other.

“Well, um...” “I, uh...”

Looking at each other, they each released a nervous laugh.

“You first,” Arizona suggested.

“I was just going to say thank you. Again,” Callie began. “For coming. For...well, for everything.” _Thank you_ alone didn’t even begin to cover how thankful she was.

Trembling with desire to reach out and touch the brunette, Arizona clasped her hands behind her back, too scared to act on her impulses. “You really don’t have to thank me, Callie. I wouldn’t have missed it.”

They stood before each other, silent and expectant, each woman hoping the other would make some sort of move.

An embrace, a nod, even a few parting words. _Anything_.

Callie physically ached to feel Arizona’s protective arms around her again, and Arizona’s heart raced at the thought of running her palms over her ex-wife’s body. Suddenly, blue eyes landed on Callie’s full lips, wanting nothing more than to kiss her.

But Callie was right. The first step was the hardest, and acknowledging that didn’t inherently make it any easier.

“I, um.” Arizona hitched her thumb behind her. “I should go.” If she looked at Callie a second longer, she knew she wouldn’t be able to control herself.

“Right,” Callie sighed, cursing their lackluster parting. It was her own fault.

Arizona offered a tentative smile. “I’ll see you Monday?”

Recovering, Callie nodded. “Yeah,” she whispered. “Monday.”

“ _Great_ ,” Arizona breathed.

They stood there for another minute, both waiting for something that wasn’t going to happen.

Then, regretfully turning to walk to their cars, they quickly realized that they were parked near each other. Sharing one last glance, they each took a step forward, heading in the same direction.


	7. Episode 7: Everything Will Be Alright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode 7 Summary: Nothing goes as planned for Arizona when she leaves Callie speechless and gets caught up in another doctor's drama.

 

_“I believe in you and me_

_I'm coming to find you_

_If it takes me all night..._

_Everything will be alright”_

 

* * *

 

On Monday morning, Arizona entered the hospital on a mission.

Much to her dismay, Callie hadn’t reached out to her the day before as she had hoped, but that didn’t deter her. She had spent all day on Sunday mulling over her next step, and now more than ever, she was sure what she wanted: to tell Callie she loved her. Always had, always would.

It no longer mattered to her how Callie responded or _if_ Callie responded at all. Even if her feelings were unrequited, Arizona knew she needed to speak her truth. After that, she would accept whatever outcome awaited her—good or bad.

She hoped, however, that the outcome would be good.

But on the off chance that she were wrong about Callie’s feelings—and she was almost certain she wasn’t—then at least she would know that she had been honest and had taken a risk for love.

She was tired of keeping her feelings inside, and she wanted Callie to know—she wanted the whole world to know—how she felt. She wanted Callie to know that her love was alive and well, once again devouring her in the way she hoped to devour Callie again: body and soul. Her heart throbbed for the woman she loved, and she wanted to rush into those strong arms every time she saw her.

She was in love with Callie. Period. She no longer could deny it.

Pushing through the door to the attendings lounge, she ignored the doctors who were milling around and drinking coffee, making a beeline for the one person she had been looking for.

“Grey,” she greeted. “I need your help.”

Meredith looked up from her tablet, surprised at the force in Arizona’s voice. “Surgery?”

Arizona shook her head. “No. It’s not,” she hemmed, “work related. It’s personal.”

“Is everything okay?” Meredith stood up, suddenly alarmed. “Is Callie-”

It wasn’t lost on Arizona that Meredith immediately had thought of Callie when she mentioned the _personal_ nature of her request. It comforted her and gave her confidence that Callie’s closest friend also thought of them in relation to each other. It signaled that Callie had been talking about her with Meredith. She only hoped that the talk was _good_.

“Everything’s fine,” she promised. “I just really need to talk to Callie tonight. _Alone_.” She bit her lip. “And I was hoping you might be able to take Sofia?”

Attempting to hide her wry smile, Meredith nodded. “Of course. You know I love having her.”

Arizona nodded gratefully, but looking at her, Meredith noted that she still seemed a little on edge. Panicked, maybe.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Arizona exhaled a long breath. “I’m good,” she swore. “Really good. For the first time in a long time, I’m…” She smiled. “I know what want. And this time, I’m not afraid to fight for it.”

 

* * *

 

Stepping onto the elevator, Callie bounced on her feet, feeling a rush of anxiety crash over her like a wave. She felt seasick with nervousness.

She had spent all day on Sunday attempting to build up the courage to tell Arizona she loved her, without any success.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t _wanted_ to tell Arizona about her everlasting love—more than anything, she had—it was just that initiating that first step was easier said than done.

She had spent so long building up a wall of protection that the idea of allowing herself to be vulnerable again—especially with the woman she valued most—was _terrifying_.

But enough time had passed, and she was no longer going to allow herself any more excuses.

She loved Arizona, and even if that love wasn’t reciprocated, she wanted the blonde to know the truth. And the clairvoyant part of her sensed that maybe, just maybe, Arizona felt the same.

Stepping out of the elevator, Callie’s eyes immediately searched for the love of her life. She needed to find the blonde and invite her over that evening so they could talk. She didn’t want to endure one more night without Arizona knowing the truth.

 

* * *

 

Walking down the hallway, Arizona caught sight of the object of her affection stepping off of the elevator. Deciding in that moment that she couldn’t wait any longer, she marched toward her ex-wife. “Callie!”

Immediately, Callie froze, her heart going into overdrive at the sound of Arizona’s voice. There was something in her tone that made Callie nervous. Was she...angry?

Callie risked a tentative step forward. “Hey,” she exhaled in greeting. “I was hoping to find you.”

Arizona nodded, all business. She didn’t want to let herself chicken out. “We need to talk.”

Callie’s eyebrows flew up. Those had to be the four most terrifying words that ever existed.

“ _Alone_.”

Callie gulped. Attempting to find her voice, she pleaded, “Arizona…”  

“We can’t go on like this,” Arizona insisted. “I can’t…it’s...”

Then she paused, noticing Callie’s drained face and panicked expression for the first time.

Callie’s stomach rolled, her heart kicking into overdrive. Was Arizona breaking up with her? _No, wait_ , she thought. _We’re not even together. She can’t break up with me._

 _But maybe she doesn’t_ _want_ _to be together_ , she realized. She felt like her bones might collapse at the very thought.

Terrified, she stammered, “Arizona, please. Don’t-”

Arizona knit her eyebrows together, baffled by Callie’s reaction. Why did she look like she was going to pass out? She was practically shaking. “Callie…? Don’t what?”

“I just...I really don’t want to hear bad-”

“ _Oh_.” All at once, Arizona understood Callie’s trepidation. Callie thought she was delivering bad news.

The brunette inhaled a deep breath and held it, her pulse faltering.

“This thing...It’s not bad,” Arizona began, voice sweet as honey.

“It’s not?” Callie croaked.

“No,” Arizona promised, desperate to demolish her ex-wife’s fears. Suddenly, she couldn’t get the words out fast enough. “I just.” She paused. “I love you. I just wanted you to know that...I love you.”  

Callie’s mouth fell open. She swallowed and stared at Arizona, utterly moonstruck as she felt the chasm bridging in her heart and her eyes pricking with tears of joy. “I…”

Arizona’s brows furrowed with worry at Callie’s speechlessness. She had expected, or at least hoped, that her ex-wife would respond with an _I love you, too_ , but Callie didn’t say anything.

 _Maybe I was wrong_ , she agonized. _Maybe she just wants to be friends and doesn’t want to take any ‘second first steps’ with me, and..._

In the tiniest, most hopeful voice, she prompted, “Calliope?”

“I…” Callie tried again, but the sound of Arizona’s pager pierced through the moment, causing them both to jump.

Arizona forced her eyes away from Callie’s face and scowled at her blaring device. _Karev. 911._

_Damn it._

With a frustrated huff, she looked up at Callie’s still-frozen face, cursing herself for blurting out her feelings just like that and cursing Alex for the untimely interruption.

Apologetically, she explained, “It’s Alex. I have to go.”

And before the brunette could form the four words she was dying to say, Arizona was gone: headed down the hallway and out of reach.

Callie groaned, wanting to smack herself on the forehead for responding so poorly. Arizona had just said _I love you_ , and she’d just stared at her like an idiot.

“Damn it,” she cursed under her breath. “Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

Seconds later, a well-dressed man approached her, bringing her self-flagellation to a halt. “Hey.”

Callie exhaled a long breath, attempting to pull herself together to do her job. “May I help you?”

The man nodded. “I’m looking for Dr. Alexander Karev. Do you know where I might find him?”

“Karev. Right.” Still in emotional turmoil over her stupid inability to form words in response to Arizona’s confession, she barely acknowledged the stranger.

Distracted, she pointed in the direction of Arizona’s retreating form. “Just follow that doctor. She’ll lead you right to him.”

He smiled. “Thanks. Have a good one.”

Callie forced a smile, meeting his ice blue eyes. “You, too.”

She looked around, hoping to locate a friend so that she could talk out what had just happened. She spotted Bailey by the nurses’ station.

“Bailey!” she called, ambling forward. “Have you seen Meredith?”

The chief didn’t even look up from her paperwork. She just lifted her pen, gesturing to the OR board behind them. “She has surgery in five minutes.”

Studying the board, Callie frowned. Gallbladder removal. A two-hour surgery.

When Bailey didn’t hear a response, her eyes flicked toward her friend’s face. “Everything alright, Torres?”

Callie gulped. “Can I talk to you about something?”

Bailey’s eyes narrowed. “Is it personal?”

Callie smiled sheepishly. “A little.”

Bailey sighed, motioning the orthopedic surgeon to follow her as she led them toward her office. “You owe me.”

 

* * *

 

When Arizona reached the pediatric floor, Alex was already waiting for her.

She strolled up to her former protégé, and he looked up from his tablet once she was standing next to him.

“Hey, you paged me?”

“Yeah,” he sighed.

She frowned. “I was in the middle of something important. Is it an emergency?”

He slid over the tablet for her to see. “You tell me.”

Arizona’s frown deepened as she read the numbers on the screen. “How long have they been like this?” she worried.

“They started dropping last night,” Alex explained. “I’ve been monitoring her since two a.m., and it’s not resolving on it’s own. The bowel is obstructed. We need to get in there.”

“Alex...” Arizona shook her head. “This will be her third surgery. I’m not sure her tiny body-”

“I know, okay?” he interrupted. “This isn’t my first preemie. I know the risks, and so do her parents, but-”

“Excuse me, are you Alex Karev?”

Alex turned to face the stranger who had interrupted their conversation. “Yeah. What do you need?”

The man smiled. “I just need a moment of your time.”

“Make an appointment,” Alex grumped. He didn’t have a moment to spare. Not with a baby’s life on the line.

Arizona turned to examine the man. He had bright eyes, slicked-back hair, and was reasonably attractive and well-dressed in a suit and tie.

“If you’re a pharmaceutical salesman, you aren’t supposed to speak to the doctors directly,” Alex amended, forcing himself to be kind. “The administrative offices are on the second floor, as is the Chief of Surgery’s.”

The man smiled again, but this time it was menacing. “Oh, I think you’re going to want to talk to me.” He pulled back the lapel of his suit jacket to reveal a holstered gun.

Alex and Arizona felt their breaths stop.

“Let’s go find somewhere a little more private.”

 

* * *

 

Bailey stared at Callie, her brown eyes as round as saucers.

Finally, one of her friends had made a move: Arizona had told Callie how she felt. And, _finally_ , both women had admitted their feelings to themselves. It had been a long time coming. That Bailey knew.

“Well, what did _you_ say?” she urged, desperate to hear more.

Callie threw her hands into the air. “Nothing!”

Bailey waited.

“I didn’t _say_ anything!” Callie regretted. “I just stared at her! And...possibly drooled a little.”

“Torres, don’t worry,” Bailey soothed. “You can tell her how you feel tonight.”

But Callie’s panic was not easily assuaged. What if Arizona questioned her redamancy? _What if Arizona thinks I don’t feel the same?_

“I need to find her,” she decided, almost tripping over her own feet in her hurry. “I need to tell her I love her, too.”

“Well, go!” Bailey commanded. “Tell her!”

Callie hurried out the door on a mission, leaving a smiling Bailey in her wake.

“It’s about damn time.”

 

* * *

 

Once they were alone in one of the darkened conference rooms in the closed-off hallway, the two surgeons stood side-by-side as the stranger tucked his Tacoma Police Department badge back into his pocket.

“I’m sorry if I scared you out there,” he regretted. “This is just a delicate situation. I just need to ask you a few questions about an old case I just got a lead on.”

“We don’t really have time for this,” Alex stonewalled. “We have a baby who needs surgery. You should talk to our Chief of Surgery. We have work to do.”

As if to emphasize his point, his pager sounded, along with Arizona’s.

Alex looked down. _911_. “We’ve gotta-”

“Answer my questions, and you’ll be free to go,” the detective assured them.

“We can’t just ignore our pages,” Arizona defended. “There are lives on the line. Surely, as a police officer, you understand that.”

“Let’s make this quick, then.” The man pulled out a photograph from his pocket, laying it down on the table. It was old and frayed at the edges, but there was no question that it was a picture of someone they both knew well: Jo Wilson.

“I’m looking for this woman.”

Alex cleared his throat, lying, “I don’t recognize her.” If Jo was in any legal trouble, he certainly wasn’t going to be the one to turn her in.

“Can you tell us _why_ you’re looking for her?” Arizona pressed.

“She’s a person of interest in a fraud case,” he explained. “Identity theft.”

“Well, we don’t know her,” Alex insisted tersely, standing up. “We have surgery.”

The detective squared his shoulders, taking a step forward. “You know, it’s against the law to lie to a police officer. If you don’t tell me where I can find her, you’re going to have a problem.”

In the thinly veiled threat, Arizona sensed that something about the situation was very, very wrong. “Can I see your badge again?”

The man handed over his credentials, his eyes never straying from Alex’s face.

Alex wondered if the badge were real, looking to Arizona for confirmation.

“It looks legitimate,” she shrugged, handing it back as she turned to the man. “I’m sorry Detective Doyle, but unless you have a warrant-”

“Doyle?” Alex spat, his heart pounding. “ _You_ ’re Seth Doyle?”

“That’s right,” Doyle growled, pulling out his gun and holding the barrel against Alex’s chest. “And _you_ ’re the asshole who’s been screwing my wife.”

 

* * *

 

Callie headed toward the nurses’ station, eager to find Arizona, when Jackson stopped her—a deep wrinkle set between his brows.

“Hey,” he greeted, stress evident in his tone. “Have you seen Karev or Robbins? I need a consult, and they aren’t answering their pages.”

Callie frowned. “Neither of them?”

He shook his head. “I paged them both three times. It really can’t wait.”

Callie stalked past his retreating form, approaching the nurse behind the desk. “Can you please page Dr. Robbins for me?”

Sarah looked up from her computer screen. “We just did, Dr. Torres. She didn’t answer.”

“Karev paged her _911_ less than an hour ago. Are they in surgery?” she pressed.

The woman shook her head. “They were here about twenty-five minutes ago, but they walked off with someone I didn’t recognize. I’m not sure where.”

“Who?” Callie demanded.

Sarah shrugged. “A man in a dark grey suit. That’s all I know.”

Callie recalled the man who had approached her downstairs and followed after Arizona. “Was he a patient’s father?”

The nurse bit her lip. The interrogation was making her nervous. “I don’t know, Dr. Torres. I’m sorry.”

“Do you know which way they went?”

“I’m not sure, but I think they went that way.” The nurse pointed down a darkened hallway.

Callie looked toward the hallway, “Why are the lights out?”

“The area is closed for repainting,” Sarah explained, smiling a little. “We had a couple _budding artists_ steal a bunch of sharpies and...”

“Oh, yeah,” Callie smiled, her worry fading. “Dr. Robbins mentioned that at lunch the other day.”

“The chief figured it was a good time to give all the rooms a fresh look, so there won’t be any patients down there all week.”

Callie stiffened, suddenly on guard. “Then why would Dr. Karev and Dr. Robbins go down there?” _Why would they have reason to?_

Again, the nurse shrugged. “I have no idea. I didn’t think to ask.”

Callie made a move to investigate, but then Sarah continued, “Whatever they’re doing must be important, though. It isn’t like Dr. Karev to not answer a page.”

 _She’s right_ , Callie thought. _It wasn’t like_ _either_ _of them_. “I’m going to go check it out,” she informed the younger woman with a decisive tap on the counter before she began heading toward the closed-off hallway.

She suddenly stopped, overcome by the ominous look of the darkened and quiet area.

“Sarah?”

The nurse looked up.

“Call security for me. Just in case.”

 

* * *

 

With their eyes locked onto the terrifying police officer standing in front of them with his gun drawn, Alex and Arizona stood frozen in fear.

“Look what you made me do!” he shouted, his gun still trained on Alex’s chest, but at a distance now. “I didn’t want it to come to this. All you had to do was tell me where she is. _Who she is._ Just give me a name.”

Arizona took a step toward Alex, feeling some sort of maternal instinct to protect him. Holding up her hands, she suggested, “Detective, why don’t we all just take a breath? I’m sure-”

“We didn’t ‘make’ you do anything,” Alex interrupted, suddenly seething. Mere feet away from him stood the man who had hurt and abused the woman he loved so badly that she’d had to run away and change her name. The entire room was tinged red, and he knew if he grabbed hold of that gun, he might use it.

He ducked his head toward Arizona, keeping his voice low. “He’s crazy!”

Doyle smiled, and it made Arizona’s hair stand on end. “You’re the crazy one,” he insisted. “You’re the one who got mixed up with a _married woman_.”

Alex grit his teeth together, hissing, “I told you I don’t know who she is.”

Doyle’s grip tightened on his gun. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”

Worried for Alex’s life—and her own—Arizona stuttered, “No one thinks y-you’re an idiot, officer...Detective Doyle. I’m sure this is all j-just a misunderstanding.”

“The only person not understanding is _this_ asshole,” he gestured at Alex. “Where is she?”

Alex was defiant. “I. Don’t. Know.”

“Alex…” Arizona pleaded. Of course, she understood that he was trying to protect the woman he loved, but wasn’t there another way? Couldn’t he just give the man a false name to give them time to get security and call the police? He was just taunting the crazed man, making him angrier and angrier.

“ _Fine_ ,” Doyle fumed, motioning to a couple of the chairs around the conference table. “We’ll do this your way. But no one’s leaving this room until I have my wife back. _Sit_.”

Alex and Arizona sat, scared into silence.

Arizona took a deep breath and slowly released it. Today was not her day. All she had wanted was to have a good, productive workday and then tell Callie she loved her over a nice dinner—with just the two of them. She had wanted the day to be happy.

Instead, she first had blurted out her feelings in the middle of the freakin’ hospital hallway—and Callie hadn’t even said anything—and then found herself in the middle of a hostage situation.

She had never liked Mondays, but this was something else. She just hoped that she and Alex would live through it.

As the seconds ticked by in silence, with Arizona watching as Alex and Doyle glared at each other in some sort of lethal staring-contest, they all heard the sound of footsteps in the distance.

Oblivious to the danger, Callie walked down the darkened hallway, opening each door and peering into every empty room in search of the Peds surgeons.

“Arizona? Alex? Are you down here?” She shut another door behind her, continuing down the hallway. _Where are they?_

Arizona stiffened. She could recognize that voice anywhere. _Callie_.

She held her breath, praying the brunette wouldn’t take another step. Her eyes screwed shut, her worry causing her physical pain. _Come on, Callie_ , she pleaded to herself. _Turn around. Please turn around._

She saw Doyle’s head snap toward the door, and she heard Alex curse beside her. “Shit.”

 _Please_.

They listened as the footsteps came to a halt on the other side of the closed door.

Arizona wanted to scream. She wanted to tell Callie to go away. To get help. To run for her life.

But she couldn’t. Not with that gun trained to the space between her and Alex, just waiting for a reason to shoot.

The door handle began to turn, and Arizona watched in horror, silently hoping that the door was locked.

It wasn’t.

And as Callie swung open the door, Doyle turned to point the gun at his new target.

 

* * *

 

Callie stood in the doorway, her eyes locked on Arizona’s horrified face. Doyle stood off to the side, going completely unnoticed by the concerned ortho surgeon who only had eyes for Arizona.

“Hey,” she greeted. “Why haven’t you been answering your pages?”

The pediatric surgeons didn’t respond, though Arizona prayed that Callie could read her eyes. They were telling her: _RUN_.

Not picking up on the message, Callie’s brows furrowed. “And why are you holding up your hands?”

Detective Doyle cleared his throat, and Callie turned toward the sound, realizing only then that there was someone else in the room. She saw the gun and froze, the color draining from her face.

Doyle sneered. “Welcome to the party.”

“Oh, no. _No_ ,” Callie decided, holding up a finger, “No! We’re not doing this. This is…this can’t be happening... _again_.”

She whipped her head back toward her friends. “Someone please tell me what is going on.”

“Callie...” Arizona exhaled. “Please...” Every cell in her body told her to shield and protect the other woman, but she knew that any move she made would just put them all at greater risk.

“No, Arizona,” Callie countered. “This is stupid! We can’t do this again. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

Arizona sighed. It was hardly as if she had _chosen_ to put herself in danger. But here she was. There they were. Face-to-face with a gunman. Again.

Doyle gestured with his gun to an empty chair at the table, hissing, “Have a seat.”

Callie didn’t move. Her eyes ran over him, and she realized then that she had seen him before. “You’re the man from downstairs.”

“This is official police business,” Doyle insisted, flashing his badge again. He was lying through his teeth.

But Callie didn’t know that, so she began to relax, thinking that all her fears stemmed from a mere misunderstanding.

“Now, please have a seat.”

Obediently, Callie pulled out the chair beside Arizona and sat down. Their knees knocked against each other, and she melted into the touch until they sat thigh against thigh, warmth radiating. She reached out, her thumb coming up to gently trace the blonde’s cheek. “Are you okay?”

Arizona’s was instantly reassured by the roaming touch, and her breath shuddered out. “We’re good,” she promised. “We’re okay, but...Callie-” Automatically, she looked toward the gunman, and Callie saw the fear in her eyes.

She forced herself to turn away from Arizona, following her gaze to the man who was still pointing a gun at the three of them.

Her eyes narrowed. “Why is your gun drawn?”

“These two are obstructing justice,” Doyle explained.

“‘Obstructing justice’?” That didn’t seem like Arizona, or like Alex—despite how big of an asshole he could be. Either way, Callie was pretty sure that still wouldn’t give him the right to draw his weapon. “How?”

“I’m conducting a criminal investigation.”

“He’s full of shit, Callie,” Alex cautioned, voice hot as flame. “Don’t listen to him.”

But Doyle ignored him, instead holding up his picture for Callie to see. “Do you know this woman?”

And despite the obvious differences in age and hairstyle, Callie’s expression immediately gave away that she recognized the woman in the photograph, and Doyle could see that.

“Callie, please-” Her hands still up, Arizona implored the woman she loved not to tell the man Jo’s name.

“ANSWER ME!” Doyle demanded, and all three doctors flinched at the ice in his tone. It was lethal.

Thinking in silence, Callie realized that Arizona and Alex clearly had not identified Jo for a reason, so she squared her shoulders and tried her best to lie. “I don’t know who that is.”

She was a terrible liar and the detective saw right through her, thrusting the gun in her direction with his finger on the trigger. “I think you _do_ know,” he growled.

Callie shook her head in denial, even as her hands flew up in surrender. At her side, Arizona released an almost inaudible whimper of worry, and Alex inhaled a long breath.

Briefly, Callie looked to Alex and met his crazed, pleading eyes. She turned back to the gunman and vowed, “I don’t.” But even she heard the tremor in her voice.

Doyle stared at her, briefly doing some sort of silent calculation before he decided, “ _Wrong answer_.”

And suddenly, he was in their space, grabbing hold of Arizona and yanking her out of her chair while his gun remained trained on Callie and Alex. He wrapped his arm around her neck and forcefully dragged her across the room, while she struggled and scratched at him to break free. She was the daughter of a Marine, after all. She knew how to protect herself.

“If you don’t tell me right now, then-”

“Hey!” Callie fought, scrambling to her feet with an innate need to protect Arizona.

Alex followed, a fraction of a second behind her. “You son of a bitch. Don’t you dare-”

The gunman just stared at them, unphased by their empty threats.

Ignoring the danger, Callie moved closer, demanding, “Let go of her!”

Doyle grinned sadistically. “If you don’t tell me-”

“ _That is the woman I love_ !” Callie snapped, her voice abruptly choking off with a sob. “If you even _think_ about hurting her-”

Doyle released his hold on Arizona and stalked toward Callie, shoving the photograph of Jo back in her face. “And I love _her_ ,” he countered. “That’s why I’m here. And nothing’s going to stop me from getting her back. Not _you_ ,” he spat, then turned to point his gun at Alex. “Not that asshole there, and not your _lesbian lover_ ,” he spat.

Instinctively, Callie backed away from his invasive, threatening presence. And, still, she refused to say a name. She didn’t know what exactly was happening, but she knew that this man would put Jo in danger if he ever found her.

“I don’t think you know what love is,” he continued, taunting Callie. “When you love someone, you would do anything for them, _anything_ to protect them. Wouldn’t you?”

Callie just stared at him, stock-still.

“ _Answer me_.”

“Y-y-yes,” Callie stuttered, eyes flashing to Arizona.

The detective’s strong hands clenched Callie’s chin, forcing her to look at only him. “So if you love her, you would do anything to protect her,” he challenged, pointing his gun at Arizona behind him. “Now tell me where I can find _my_ woman, and I’ll let _yours_ live.”

Callie’s face twisted with grief and regret. She was torn. “I…”

“Just tell me her name.”

“I…don’t…” Callie looked between him, Alex, and Arizona, not knowing what to do. “ _Please_ ,” she beseeched. “Don’t-”

Doyle was shaking with rage, squeezing Callie’s face so hard that she worried her mandible or ramus might break. “Her _name_ ,” he insisted.

“Just-” Callie paused. She loved Arizona and would do anything to protect her. But she couldn’t do that with the gunman gripping her face.

“Let go of me!” she cried. “Let go, and I’ll tell you!”

Trusting her words, Doyle let her go.

 

* * *

 

“Grey,” April began. “Have you seen Arizona? She texted me last night and said she needed to talk to me, but I can’t find her anywhere.”

Meredith grinned. She knew exactly what—or _who_ —Arizona wanted to talk to April about. “I saw her about an hour ago,” she offered.

Jackson, who had been walking past them, stopped when he caught sight of them. “Have either of you seen Robbins or Karev lately?”

“That’s what I was just asking!” April exclaimed.

Meredith shrugged. “I saw Arizona about an hour ago. They’re probably in surgery. If it’s an emergency, you could probably get Bailey to-”

“What are you three gossiping about?” Bailey scolded. She had been headed to the most central conference room to meet with a major donor, but she made a detour when she saw three of her surgeons loitering in the hallway. “Don’t you have places to be?”

“I’m looking for Robbins,” Jackson explained, “and she won’t answer her pages.”

“Page Karev,” Bailey suggested. She knew that if Callie had found Arizona, it would be no surprise that the two women were in an on-call room somewhere. No one could deny how drawn to one another they had always been.

And she wasn’t going to begrudge them for consummating their long-overdue reconciliation. “I think Robbins might be…busy.”

“I did,” Jackson insisted. “He’s not answering either.”

Before she could answer, Bailey’s pager sounded. It was...security?

“I need to go,” she informed her doctors, concern shadowing her expression. “Page him again.” 

 

* * *

 

While Doyle awaited Callie’s disclosure, Alex carefully stepped forward, silently lifting a chair and preparing to club Doyle over the head. They just needed a second. One second to distract him—to grab the gun and run for their lives. From there, everything would be okay.

“Don’t mess with me,” the detective growled, eyes fixed on Callie. “Name. _Now_.”

With a gulp, Callie nodded. “Her name is...Ashley Barnes.”

Doyle’s lip twitched as a brief moment of triumph shone on his face.

And in that one moment of pause, Alex threw the chair at the unsuspecting detective, delivering one sharp blow and knocking him down to the ground.

“ _Run_!” Alex cried, knowing they didn’t have much time. He began to move toward the door, but Doyle recovered, grabbing his legs and tripping him. The two men began to wrestle on the floor, struggling for the upper hand, and in the chaos, the gun slid away and out of reach.

“Callie!” Arizona shrilled, beckoning her over.

“I know.” Callie navigated her way around the struggling men on the floor, throwing a protective arm around Arizona’s shoulder as they hurried toward the exit to go get help.

“Get out!” Alex called in a pained voice that was rising in desperation. He was strong, but Doyle was well-trained.

The detective pinned Alex’s arms down with his knees and grabbed the gun, preparing to club Alex with it.

“No!” Alex panted, using all his strength to overcome the man and tackle him to the ground.

In all the commotion, they heard the sound of a gunshot.

A piercing scream ripped through the air.

And Arizona hit the ground with a thud.

 


	8. Episode 8: Happy Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode 8 Summary: The drama concludes in the season finale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Season Finale, but and epilogue to follow.

 

"Get out!" Alex called in a pained voice that was rising in desperation. He was strong, but Doyle was well-trained.

The detective pinned Alex's arms down with his knees and grabbed the gun, preparing to club Alex with it.

"No!" Alex panted, using all his strength to overcome the man and tackle him to the ground.

In all the commotion, they heard the sound of a gunshot.

A piercing scream ripped through the air.

And Arizona hit the ground with a thud.

 

* * *

 

Bailey made her way to the pediatric ward with concern etched on her face. Security had paged her, and she had no idea why. “If those kids got ahold of any more Sharpies...” 

“Chief?” Two of the hospital’s huge security guards approached the grumbling woman when they caught sight of her.

“Look, I’ve got two missing doctors,” she informed them, impatient, though she was fairly certain that one of those doctors was off with Callie somewhere. “I don’t have time for mischievous, Sharpie-wielding kids right n-”

“Three,” Officer Westinghouse interrupted before she could finish. “You have  _ three  _ missing doctors.”

Bailey’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Dr. Torres had this nurse here,” he pointed to Sarah, who gave the Chief a weak smile, “contact us because she was concerned about Dr. Robbins and Dr. Karev not answering their pages.”

Bailey’s eyes widened, suddenly concerned herself. “Torres wasn’t with Robbins?”

“She was looking for her,” Sarah cut in. 

“Where is she now?” Bailey pressed.

“I told her they went down the hallway, and she went looking for them a while ago...” the nurse explained, worrying, “She hasn’t come back yet.”

Bailey turned to the two security guards. “Well, why aren’t you looking for them?” she snapped. “You don’t need me to hold your hands. Go! Do your job!”

“We’re on it, Chief, but part of protocol is to notify you first,” one of the guards reminded her. 

“We just needed you to confirm our course of action,” the other specified. 

Bailey shook her head and was about to lament the time wasted on this particular unnecessary protocol, when a loud shot rang out and echoed through the hallway. 

Sarah dropped behind the counter, immediately recalling the events from  six and half  years ago, when a gunman had stalked the halls of Seattle Grace Mercy West with a careless disregard for the lives he was taking.

Bailey froze in place, the shock temporarily rendering her motionless.

Another nurse gawked at them. “What was that?”

Officer Westinghouse grabbed Bailey by the shoulders, moving her back and away from the deserted hallway where the sound had originated. “Stay back. Call the police. We’ll check it out.”

He turned to his partner, whose gun was already drawn, and nodded in confirmation. They knew how to handle this situation. They had been trained for this.

 

* * *

 

For a moment, everything was still. No one moved. Not the doctors. Not even Doyle. They all just stared in horror, waiting.

Eyes wide, Arizona finally broke the silence. “He  _ shot  _ me.” 

She couldn’t feel anything. Nothing but her ears ringing from the sound of the shot and the shock of the impact.

Doyle remained silent, as if he couldn’t believe what he had done. Alex took advantage of the moment to get in one good punch, stunning the man long enough to grab the gun and slide it out of reach. 

Callie immediately dropped to the floor by Arizona’s side, her brown eyes frantically scanning the smaller body for injury. 

“Arizona! Are you bleeding?” she panicked. “Does it hurt? Where were you hit?”

Arizona looked down at her legs, attempting to identify where it hurt.

“Karev!” Callie screeched. “Page security! P-pa-page Hunt! And Kepner! Page everyone!”

“Callie, I’m fine,” Arizona soothed as she tried to sit up.

Callie turned back to face her, gently lowering her hand onto Arizona’s chest to keep her from moving any further. “Arizona, honey, don’t move,” she pleaded. 

She began a quick full-body examination, searching for signs of any pain, abnormalities, or severe bleeding. 

Arizona felt those hands everywhere: on her neck, her torso, her hips, her thighs…

“Where…Where does it hurt?” Callie worried disjointedly a minute later when she still hadn’t found any hints of a gunshot wound.

Arizona ran a hand through her hair, buying herself a moment to slow her shallow breathing. It was hard to think when Callie was touching her, even despite the clinical nature of the contact and despite the trauma they had just endured. 

Finally, she realized, “Actually...it doesn't.”

Confused, Callie felt a line form between her brows. Her hands faltered in their exploration. “But...you just said you were shot.” And she was pretty sure that Arizona  _ had  _ been shot. She had felt her body jerk and seen her fall to the ground, and there were no bullet holes in the walls...

“I was,” Arizona insisted, then sat up and inspected her own body with sudden uncertainty. “At least, I  _ thought  _ I was.”

“She looks fine,” Alex decided, eyes fixing on Callie. He nodded toward the door. “Go get help.” 

He was sitting on the detective’s chest in an effort to keep him detained. And the sight of it was so weird  that they normally might have laughed, but nothing about the situation was at all funny.

Callie reluctantly left Arizona’s side, standing up and stepping toward the door. She pulled it open, only to come face-to-face with another gun.

“Don’t move!” the security guard yelled.

“Whoa!” Callie jumped back, almost tripping over Arizona as another man pointed a gun at her chest.

She breathed a sigh of relief and re-steadied herself, when she recognized it was, in fact, only a security guard. “Oh, thank God! I didn’t think you would ever get here.”

The second security guard made his way to Alex and Doyle, immediately cuffing the man who had put the doctors at risk. 

Once Officer  Westinghouse was confident that his partner had a good hold on the assailant, he holstered his own weapon. “Are you okay?” he asked, looking between the three doctors. “We heard a gunshot. Police are en route.”

Arizona, who was still on the floor and had rolled up both her pant-legs, suddenly grinned triumphantly. 

“Ha!” she laughed. Her hand found Callie’s leg, fingers tenderly grazing it as her other hand gestured toward the bullet she had located. It was lodged in her prosthetic. “Look.” 

Callie obliged, and everyone in the room followed her eyes.

When she realized the love of her life was completely unscathed, Callie sighed in relief, and her eyes suddenly shone with tears. Gingerly, she met bright blue eyes. “You’re okay,” she exhaled.

“It’s a good thing you have that prosthetic leg,” Westinghouse chuckled, acknowledging how much worse it could have been.  _ She’s more than okay _ , he thought. “You’re lucky is what you are.”

After a moment of silent processing, Arizona nodded as she experienced some odd tectonic shift. Because, for the first time since the plane crash, not having a leg felt like a benefit rather than a loss. “Yeah,” she breathed in agreement, a slow smile gracing her features. “ _ Lucky _ .”

 

* * *

 

An hour later, the police had come and gone to take both the doctors’ initial statements and Arizona’s leg for evidence. Then, Alex had gone off trying to get in touch with Jo, which left only Callie, Arizona, and Bailey in the conference room.

Callie and Arizona sat side-by-side at the conference table, their hands tightly clasped between them. Instinctively, Callie’s thumb rubbed comforting circles on soft pale skin, and Arizona’s lips curled up as her heart filled of love.

“Well, I better be going,” Bailey finally decided, breaking the silence. “You two are free to go. Take the rest of today and tomorrow off. I’ll have a trauma counselor come in on Wednesday.”

Callie and Arizona just nodded, still a little shaken up. 

Bailey stood up and pushed in her chair, then paused to stare at two of her best surgeons. “You two…” She shook her head, still in disbelief of what had happened in her hospital.

To her friends.

Her face softened. “I’m glad you’re okay.” 

They both nodded. “We are, too.”

Before heading to the door, Bailey’s eyes cut to Callie, and she smirked a little. “Did you tell her yet?”

It took her a second to recognize what her friend was referring to, before Callie remembered:  _ Oh, yeah _ .  _ I still haven’t told Arizona that I love her, too. _

Not in the way she wanted to, anyway. Yelling it at a gunman in the heat of the moment wasn’t exactly  _ romantic _ .

She felt Arizona staring at her in curiosity and felt her face flush. “I haven’t exactly,” she cleared her throat, “...found the right moment.” The whole crazy-psychopathic-cop-and-wife-beater had sort of gotten in the way of her plans.

Bailey pursed her lips, attempting to cover up her widening smile. If everyone knew what a softy she really was, there was no way anything would ever get done. “I’ll leave you to it, then,” she decided, grabbing her iPad from the table.

Before exiting the door, she turned back to face her friends, solemn again. “Take care of each other, okay?”

As she smiled at Bailey, Arizona squeezed Callie’s hand. “I will,” she said, and it sounded like a promise.

Callie nodded. “I will.”

When the chief was out of sight, Arizona turned to face Callie. Playfully, she raised an eyebrow, prompting, “Did you have something to tell me?”

“I do,” Callie admitted, her breath coming out in a rush. She squared her shoulders in preparation and cradled Arizona’s hand in between both of hers. “I know you probably know this already, but before we were  _ rudely  _ interrupted by Detective Doom…”

Arizona smiled.

“I never finished telling you what I wanted to say,” she continued, holding the ivory hand close. “I wanted to say tha-”

Alex barged into the room, out of breath and effectively ruining their moment. “Hey. Good thing you’re both still here. The cops want us all down there so we can give our full statements.”

Regretfully, Callie turned away from Arizona as she released a frustrated sigh.

Understanding her frustration, Arizona placed a soothing hand over Callie’s thigh, fixing her  protégé with an irritated glare. 

“What?” he demanded self-consciously, once he met her eyes.

“Run away, Karev.”

“What’d I do?” he squawked. “You could’ve died if it weren’t for me!” Of course, as soon as he said it, he realized that it was because of him that they had been in their nearly fatal position in the first place.

“Right,” Callie deadpanned.

Alex rolled his eyes, weakly surrendering, “Okay, fine. Whatever. But you know what I mean.” 

Arizona continued glaring at him, and he refocused his attention on her. “Dude. Seriously,” he worried. “What did I do?”

Callie turned to face the blonde, and she couldn’t help but smile when, between clenched teeth, Arizona explained, “We were having a moment, here.” 

Alex’s stared at his mentor for a minute, then his eyes widened in understanding. “Oh. Did I...Were you…?”  _ Of course _ . Arizona had told him that she loved Callie a little over a week ago. Then, that morning, he had heard Callie admit the same. He had seen that love.

Callie offered him a little nod, her eyes silently urging him to go before Arizona threw a chair at him or something. Already, it had been a high-stress day, and everyone was a little keyed up.

“Oh.  _ Dude _ ,” Alex apologized, backtracking fast. “I-”

“Run away,” Arizona advised again, though her tone was kinder than before.

“I can’t,” Alex regretted.

Arizona scowled at him. Callie did, too. “The police said we could come later-”

“No. We need to get down there  _ now _ ,” he clarified. “I don’t want to risk him getting out.”

Arizona was already shaking her head. “I can’t,” she insisted. “I need to see Sofia first.” She’d just had a near-death experience. She needed to see her little girl.

“Me, too,” Callie immediately seconded. “We’ll go stop by her school and then meet you downtown in an hour.”

“No.” Alex was adamant. “They picked up Jo to question her. We need to be down there so they don’t let this psycho loose. You can see Sofia tonight. She’s fine.”

“But…” Arizona started to protest.

Callie squeezed her hand. “We’ll swing by the school afterwards,” she suggested. “We can pick her up early.”

Arizona sighed. “She’s going to Meredith’s tonight,” she remembered. “I arranged it earlier. I wanted some time with you...to talk.” She paused, smiling shyly. “Just the two of us.”

Callie exhaled a shaky breath, suddenly lost in Arizona’s endless blue eyes.

Alex rolled his eyes. “Just stop by and say hi to her after you talk to the cops again,” he advised. “Then you can go figure your crap out.” 

His phone started buzzing, and he immediately answered as he left the room. “Hey. Are you down there yet? That bastard didn’t see you, did he?” The sound of his voice faded out as he made his way further and further down the hallway.

Recognizing that their moment was lost, Callie offered, “Looks like we’d better head down there.” 

They both knew their  _ I love you _ ’s would have to come later. They’d have plenty of time to find the right moment. There was no need to rush.

“Yeah,” Arizona agreed, then ventured, “But tonight…? We can talk?” 

“Just the two of us,” Callie agreed. “My place? We can order a pizza,” she grinned.

Arizona smiled back. “Sounds perfect.”

As they stood up and made to leave, Arizona wobbled for a moment, unaccustomed to the feeling of her spare prosthetic. 

Almost by instinct, Callie’s hand found the small of her back, prepared to help, if need be.

But Arizona didn’t need her. Once she caught herself, Callie offered her a wry smile. “Another leg lost, huh?”

Arizona just shrugged, completely unfazed. “You can build me new one.”

 

* * *

 

Callie not only spent the latter part of the afternoon recuperating, but also preparing —both mentally and physically—for the evening she and Arizona planned to spend together. She wanted everything to be perfect.

That morning certainly hadn’t been perfect. It had seemed as though history had repeated itself, and she didn’t want that for herself and Arizona. She wanted them to build something organically new, and better, and stronger.

And so did Arizona. A few miles away, she packed up a picnic basket with a blanket to sit on,  a plate of grapes and vegetables as hors d'oeuvres, and bottles of red and white wine that  promised to complement pizza  from a Sicilian vineyard. She knew Callie preferred the red wine, but at the last minute, she decided to to bring the white, too. 

Finally, she took one last look in the mirror, assessing her outfit. After tucking a stray curl behind her ear and smoothing her hands over her jeans, she decided,  _ I guess I’m ready _ . 

Already, she felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach, and she hadn’t even left the house yet.

 

* * *

 

Fifteen minutes later, Arizona stepped up to Callie’s doorstep. As she exhaled a tremulous breath, she couldn’t control the way her lips curled up at the knowledge that, in seconds, she would see Callie. 

Really, it had always been that way for her. And, in the months since she had told Callie to go to New York and Callie hadn’t gone, that innate, autonomic reaction had only gotten stronger.

She lifted her knuckles to the door and knocked.

Her heart pounded in her chest, not in fear, but in anticipation of the endless possibility of their new potential. She couldn’t hold back her smile, knowing in her heart that everything that happened going forward would be life-altering for both of them. 

Somehow, for the first time since they had said  _ I do _ all of those years ago, Arizona felt a sense of sureness. She had no doubt of the verity of their impending reconciliation. And despite their terrifying morning, she couldn’t contain the joy that now bubbled in her chest at knowing this was it for them.

Callie pulled open the door up with such excitement that her hair blew back from her face, and she exposed a toothy smile that matched Arizona’s.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” Arizona dimpled back.

As her eyes ran over Arizona’s body, Callie noticed the picnic basket, and a line formed between her eyebrows. “I thought we were getting pizza.”

“We are,” Arizona assured her, expecting the delivery to come just a few minutes later. “But I wanted to romance you, so we’re having a picnic, too.”

Callie’s smile was blinding as she lifted her hand and urged the blonde inside. “Come in. It’s freezing out here.”

 

* * *

 

After spreading out the blanket on the carpet of the low-lighted living room, Callie and Arizona sat across from each other with only a foot of empty space between them.

As Arizona began unloading the contents of the basket, she felt Callie watching her intensely. Hungrily, almost, just as she hungered for Callie.

“So,” Arizona began, attempting to slow her ever-speeding heart by remaining casual. But the problem was that she didn’t know  _ how  _ to be casual when all she wanted to do was tell Callie how much she loved her. She was impatient to say the words —and deliberately, this time .

“So…” Callie countered, a knowing smile teasing her lips. She felt just as awkward. She didn’t know how to get back to talking about their everlasting feelings after the morning they’d had.

“How was the rest of your afternoon?”

“Boring, thankfully” Callie joked. 

Arizona offered a bleak smile. “Right,” she remembered. “I’m ready for a little tedium. If the most exciting aspect of my life becomes Sofia’s soccer games, I’ll be happy.”

Callie laughed. “I don’t know…” she teased with an affectionate grin. “You know they tend to stir up some drama, what with Jarrod being a ball hog, and everything.”

“You know that he bothers you, too!” Arizona defended.

“True,” Callie conceded, still smiling.

They were silent for a moment, and then Arizona braved, “It’s worth it, though.”

Callie looked up, waiting.

Arizona rolled her eyes at herself, cursing her sudden shyness.  _ She loves you _ , she reminded herself.  _ And you love her _ . “I mean, the kid drives me crazy,” she explained, “And so do his parents. But cheering on the sidelines, with you…” she trailed off.

“It feels right,” Callie finished for her, her voice a solemn whisper.

Arizona momentarily froze, amazed that Callie had managed to take the words right out of her mouth. “Yeah. It does.”

Before either woman could say anything else, the doorbell rang, and Callie hurried to pay the pizza delivery man.

When she came back, smiling and carrying a medium cheese pizza, Arizona was walking back from the kitchen with two wine glasses. 

Arizona nodded toward the wine bottles as they each sat down. “These are supposed to go well with pizza,” she explained. “Should I open the red?”

“Let’s do white,” Callie suggested as she lifted the lid of the cardboard pizza box.

Callie’s response surprised Arizona, but she poured them each some wine and handed Callie a glass without saying anything. 

As they ate their pizza in comfortable, companionable silence, their knees brushing, Callie felt Arizona’s eyes trained on her.

She looked up, noting that the blonde’s face was etched with a curiosity and seriousness that took her off guard. “What?” she worried.

Arizona pursed her lips as she silently deliberated whether or not to address what bothered her. Finally, she began, “You used to like red wine better.”

Callie knew it wasn’t a question. She  _ had  _ liked it better, and Arizona knew it. Still, she affirmed, “I did.”

“But not anymore?” Arizona wondered.

“I still do,” Callie informed her. “I just...” She paused. “I just got used to drinking white after we divorced.”

Arizona’s eyebrows furrowed as she attempted to decipher what that meant. She nodded disjointedly, unsuccessfully pretending that she understood. “Oh.”

Callie smiled at Arizona’s carefully composed expression, knowing that it was only a mask. “I don’t think I was conscious of why I started liking it so much, at first,” she explained. “I only figured that out a few weeks ago.”

Arizona’s felt her confusion intensify. It was silly, but she didn’t like feeling like there were some basic things that she no longer knew about the woman she loved. She wanted to know all of Callie again, inside and out, heart and soul. “What do you mean?”

Callie blushed, suddenly a little embarrassed. She looked down, focused on her thumb that circled the rim of her glass.

“ _ Hey _ .” Arizona lifted her hand to Callie’s thigh without thinking. 

Callie stiffened as she felt bumps rise on her skin like braille.

Feeling a similar reaction in her own body, Arizona struggled to continue. “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.”

Callie shook her head, forcing herself to speak. “No.” She reached for Arizona’s hand and entwined their fingers on her lap. “It’s just…” She blushed. “It’s stupid.”

Arizona searched her face, her concern deepening. “ _ Nothing _ about you is stupid,” she maintained. “You’re the exact opposite. Believe me.”

Callie smiled, and this time, her face flushed for a different reason. Of course she believed Arizona felt that way. She could feel it —the awe Arizona felt for her. It was almost palpable.

“I just...” she tried again. “The reason I started liking white wine so much is because...I realized it tastes like  _ you _ .”

Arizona’s eyes widened, and then a smile bloomed on her lips as Callie’s meaning registered. She imagined Callie missing her on long, lonely nights. She imagined Callie longing for her lips, then taking a sip of white wine and tasting her —as if  they were kissing. 

It thrilled her to know that Callie had craved her taste as much as she’d craved Callie’s. 

And, feeling that it was her turn to be a little vulnerable, Arizona offered a confession of her own. “I always held on to hope.”

Callie waited.

“I mean, I know we got a divorce,” she continued. “And I moved out. And we stopped talking about anything but Sofia. It was final. But, in my heart, I always hoped…”

She paused, rolling her eyes at herself out of habit. She hadn’t been raised to express her emotions, but she wanted Callie to know. She needed Callie to know just how much she always had loved her and had hoped they could find a way back to each other.

Callie squeezed Arizona’s hand, but she didn’t take her eyes off the face that was suddenly so expressive.

Arizona recentered herself. “I always held onto hope that, somehow, we’d find our story’s happy ending. But I wanted you to be free, and happy, so I let you go, and-”

She was interrupted by Callie’s quiet chuckling. “What?” she demanded, though her own lips curled up at the sound.

“Just promise me we’ll keep communicating from now on,” Callie laughed, cursing just how  _ wrong  _ they both had been. 

They both had let each other go because they had thought that the other would be happier. But, in fact, they were both their happiest together. 

“No more letting each other go,” she commanded in mock-admonishment.

“Deal,” Arizona pledged, nodding. She wouldn’t let Callie go again. She wanted to hold her forever. “Especially after this morning…” Suddenly, her tone darkened.

“Yeah,” Callie breathed.

Arizona made a face. “That kind of put things in perspective.”

Callie nodded in agreement. “It did.” Then, she added, “You know, we’ve had so many life altering moments. Some things that tore us apart and other things that brought us back together. And I was scared this would…” She paused, composing herself to say the words she wanted to say.

Arizona waited patiently, allowing Callie the moment to gather her thoughts. As the seconds ticked by and Callie made no move to continue, her eyebrows rose in anticipation.

When Callie finally found her voice again, she explained, “This didn’t change anything—our lives being on the line again. I was ready before, and I’m still ready. I already knew...honestly, I’ve always known...” 

“What?” Arizona pressed, and she instinctively leaned forward, no longer able to wait in silence. She knew what was coming. They both did. But, still, she was eager for Callie to say the words again. For the universe to bear witness to their delivery. “What have you known?”

Callie smiled, and Arizona’s heart took flight in her chest.

Callie met those bright blue eyes that clearly revealed deep, passionate, longing love. “I love you.”

Arizona’s heart soared in her chest, and she grinned, giddy. “I love you, too. I’m  _ in  _ love with you,” she added. “And I have been been, from the very beginning.”

She meant that, and Callie knew it. Callie felt it. And with her heart pounding, she leaned forward, eyes fixed to that full mouth. She raised her hand, gently tracing a perfectly pink and irresistibly soft cheek with her thumb.

Almost inaudibly, she heard Arizona’s breath shudder out at the contact. She felt the way her breathing changed in anticipation.

“I mean it, Calliope,” Arizona breathed, her hand coming to rest on Callie’s warm thigh as their darkening eyes met. She thought about how, from the start, Callie somehow had broken down all her defenses. And she had never even resented that.

Initially, when she’d first seen Callie, and kissed her, and dated her, Arizona had fallen for her in a heartbeat. And, these past few months, she had fallen for her more slowly, but over and over and over again.

Callie smiled. “Me, too,” she vowed caressingly. “I know I haven’t always-”

Arizona shook her head, hushing Callie by placing her index finger gently on her lips. “I love you and you love me. That’s all that matters.”

Callie’s smile expanded at her words, and Arizona couldn't hold back anymore. She moved her hand away from Callie’s lips and into her soft hair. Instinctually, they met each other in the middle, their lips coming together in a perfect union.

As Arizona deepened the kiss, Callie moaned at the taste of her. In that kiss, Callie tasted not only white wine and something that was uniquely Arizona, but also the next fifty years of her life.

Her hands found a narrow waist, and Arizona’s fingers braided through her raven waves, tugging her closer.

Callie sucked a pink bottom lip between her own, and Arizona didn’t even attempt to hold back her whimper. Once upon a time, she might have, but not anymore. Not when she had yearned for that mouth for months. Not when she had wanted Callie so badly, for so long. And not when they were so close to their happy ending.

Callie shuddered at the arousing sound, and both their mouths opened as they continued devouring each other—desperate after having denied their desire for so long.

Minutes later, they were breathless, and Callie pulled back to breathe, though she was still close enough to nuzzle Arizona’s nose and breathe in her breath.

Caught up in memories of flawless, naked ivory skin with Arizona so close, Callie forced herself to pull back a few more inches to think more clearly.

“I, um. We, uh.” She paused, meeting eyes that looked almost navy in the blonde’s excitement. “I want you,” she husked, her breath still uneven. “I want all of you, Arizona. Right now. But...we should take things slow, right?” 

Even knowing that it was the right thing to do, though, Callie hoped that Arizona would say  _ no _ .

_ God _ , Callie thought, that urgent ache tightening inside her,  _ I really want her _ .

“Oh,” Arizona breathed, hoping her tone masked her disappointment. She was tired of waiting. She was tired of going slow. She wanted to show Callie how much she loved her. And she hated the term ‘make love,’ but that’s what sex always was with Callie. They  _ made love _ .

_ No _ , Arizona chided herself.  _ Going slow was the right thing to do. Right? _

“You’re right,” she nodded. “Of course. We should go slow.” Even as she said it, her wanton gaze locked on Callie’s cleavage, and she licked her lips as she imagined her tongue tracing naked curves.

Callie gulped as she noticed Arizona’s immodest stare, and she was more desperate than ever for their bodies to rub against each other. To love each other in full.

Yanking herself from her trance, Arizona shook her head. “I guess I should probably go, then,” she decided responsibly, and she stood up.

Callie scrambled to her feet. “I guess so,” she sighed, forcing a smile.

But, really, going slow didn’t feel like what Arizona should do. And it felt like time to start listening to her heart, rather than silencing it.

A second later, she was in Callie’s space, wrapping her arms around a soft waist and capturing full lips in a deep kiss.

Callie welcomed the contact with equal fervor, pulling Arizona more tightly against her so that their curves melded, and they fit together in a way that no two other people ever had before.

Still entangled, Arizona began pushing them toward Callie’s bedroom as the fire in her legs spread and the love in her heart permeated her every cell.

Callie pulled back to breathe, and she felt Arizona’s moist mouth fasten to the column of her neck. “I... _ uhhh _ ,” she groaned, her hands unconsciously finding the skin of a slender back. Arizona’s leg between her thighs pressed into her, making her shudder with frenzied desire. “I— _ god, Arizona _ —I thought we were taking things slow.”

Arizona pulled back, fixing Callie with a mischievous smile before grabbing the hem of her own shirt and pulling it over her head. Throwing it across the room, she stalked forward, and Callie stumbled backward until the backs of her thighs hit the bed.

“We are,” Arizona insisted, pushing her down onto the mattress.

Callie looked up at her, her wide, wondering eyes roaming over her blue-eyed, wild-haired, dimpling beauty.

Arizona’s dimples deepened. “I plan to take things  _ really  _ slow.”

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, Callie and Arizona lay curled into each other, their legs scissoring and their hands tracing patterns against spines, re-learning every muscle and vertebrae.

“Mmm,” Callie hummed contentedly. 

Grinning, Arizona pulled back from where she was burrowed into Callie’s warmth and marveled at her sated face. Blue eyes perused her tiny freckles, her lashes drawn with charcoal, the space between her eyes, and her ears, and Arizona leaned in, dropping a gentle kiss on red lips. 

Callie opened her eyes, soulfully meeting bright blues.

“You’re beautiful,” Arizona breathed. She moved in again, leaving a trail of wet kisses along a strong jaw, then on two soft cheeks, a cold nose, and finally focusing on swollen lips.

Callie smiled, pulling Arizona impossibly closer, their languid lips moving together as they re-explored each other’s mouths at an unhurried pace.

“So are you,” Callie swore, her breath rasping across Arizona’s face. She cocked her head back, placing a light kiss on her forehead.

She pulled back, suddenly overcome with the thrill of knowing that they would be able to lie together, like this, every night for the rest of their lives. 

“We have all day tomorrow to be together,” she remembered, her teeth and eyes gleaming. 

“We have more than just tomorrow,” Arizona reminded her. They had forever to be together. The rest of their lives.

“Right,” Callie grinned. “So what should we do?”

Arizona shrugged, smiling. “Together? We can do anything.”

 

* * *

 

_ I can't see me loving nobody but you _ __  
_ for all my life. _ __  
_ When you're with me, baby, the skies will be blue _ __  
_ for all my life. _ __  
_ Me and you, and you and me, _ __  
_ no matter how they toss the dice, it had to be. _ __  
_ The only one for me is you, and you for me. _ _  
_ __ So happy together.


End file.
